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Monday, December 01, 2008
Interception and recording of NDP caucus meeting may become a legal matter
Apparently on the advice of legal council, the New Democratic Party issued the following press release late Sunday evening:
Today's news reports that a member of the Conservative Party intercepted and electronically recorded a private communication restricted to members of the NDP caucus raises serious questions as to whether this activity contravened the Criminal Code of Canada. The caucus meeting was intended to be confidential as were the communications that took place during the meeting. The only intended recipients were the members of the NDP caucus. It appears that the call-in number was inadvertently sent to a Conservative MP.
We have been given legal advice that any reasonable person who was inadvertently given access to the call would have understood that he or she was not invited to listen to the communication or to record it. The continued possession of any such recording may also be an offence under the Criminal Code.
The New Democratic Party would request that anyone in possession of the recording to turn it over to the Office of the Commissioner of the RCMP for use in any subsequent investigation.
The release allow provides the provisions of the Criminal Code the party think are relevant to this case:
Criminal Code
PART VI: INVASION OF PRIVACY
Interception of Communications
s. 183. "private communication” means any oral communication, or any telecommunication, that is made by an originator who is in Canada or is intended by the originator to be received by a person who is in Canada and that is made under circumstances in which it is reasonable for the originator to expect that it will not be intercepted by any person other than the person intended by the originator to receive it, and includes any radio-based telephone communication that is treated electronically or otherwise for the purpose of preventing intelligible reception by any person other than the person intended by the originator to receive it;
Interception
184. (1) Everyone who, by means of any electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, willfully intercepts a private communication is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
Saving provision
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to
(a) a person who has the consent to intercept, express or implied, of the originator of the private communication or of the person intended by the originator thereof to receive it;
Posted by Matthew Johnston on December 1, 2008 in Canadian Politics | Permalink
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Comments
How did they know it was the Conservative Party who intercepted and recorded the message?
If so, can we give the person or persons medals for their patriotism in exposing this conspiracy?
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-11-30 9:48:14 PM
LOL: "It appears that the call-in number was inadvertently sent to a Conservative MP."
An inadvertent invitation to join the call is still an invitation. There goes their criminal complaint...
Posted by: Richard Evans | 2008-11-30 10:30:19 PM
Whoever it was, it was a very stupid idea. Even more stupid was the decision by some Conservative bloggers to publish the audio and transcript. It only adds fuel to the conflagration raging out there now ....
There are already enough wild accusations floating around; there was need for yet another.
Posted by: Werner Patels | 2008-12-01 2:21:18 AM
I meant, "no need for...."
Posted by: Werner Patels | 2008-12-01 2:21:57 AM
So a legally invited phone call shows the 'Strong Leader' Taliban Jack is also a connivivng, crooked leader who clearly puts his personal political fortune ahead of the nation.
Talk about getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar!
Canadians just spent #300 million on an election giving the CPC an increased minority, plainly telling the Liberals and NDP that they do not trust either one of them with running the nation and yet, suddenly out of the Napoleon ego in the backrooms, they hatch a plan to seize power?
This is bizarre beyond belief.
Why bother with any elections anymore?
Posted by: Rocky Thompson | 2008-12-01 7:35:38 AM
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