Thread: CCTV expansion?
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Old Posted Sep 16, 2008, 8:07 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: London (Islington), UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FairHamilton View Post
So then where does it say they are entitled to observe and 'record' my actions/activities at anytime, and in any public place?
Generally speaking, and particularly in common law jurisdictions such as Canada, this is not how the law works. There is no overarching document which specifically lays out what particular acts a government may and may not do. There is a criminal law power, under s.91 (27), and a catch all power called the POGG (peace, order, and good governance) power which covers just about anything which doesn't fall under the specific "head of power" in the subsections of ss. 91 and 92. In crude terms, since we are a democracy, our government is entitled to do whatever it so pleases (to the extent that its actions do not conflict with the charter), because we elect it to so do. The government does not derive its power to act in particular ways exclusively from legislative documents (statutes) but also and perhaps more importantly from the common law. The common law functions in such a way that, so long as there is neither statute nor principle preventing the government from observing and recording the actions of individuals in public spaces (which there is not), the government is empowered to go on observing and recording those actions until such a statute or principle arises.
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