Office of the Privacy Commissioner
112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H3

October 22, 2003

Dear Sir or Ms;

I am writing in reference to a proposal, recently announced by the Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, to install closed circuit television systems (CCTV) viewing the public sidewalks of the town, to be monitored by the local RCMP detachment.

The proposal is described in a Wednesday October 22, 2003 article in the Halifax Herald. (a copy of the article is attached)

I am struck by the similarity between the Antigonish proposal and a recent issue in Kelowna, BC. In the Kelowna case, your office requested Justice Gérard V. La Forest to write an opinion regarding the legal implications of the use of video surveillance by the police on public streets.

Justice La Forest concluded that:

1. Continuously recorded general video surveillance violates the Privacy Act;
2. General video surveillance, whether or not recorded, violates section 8 of the Charter; and
3. The Solicitor General has the authority to regulate the use of video surveillance by the RCMP.

I am asking that you monitor the Town’s progress in this proposal, and if they proceed with installation of CCTV devices to be monitored by the RCMP, that you intervene and use whatever authority you have at your disposal to prevent the Town and the RCMP from using CCTV to monitor public sidewalks.

Sincerely,

John van Gurp

2537 Oxford Street

Halifax, NS

B3L 2T5

(902) 423-0880

john@jvangurp.com

cc: B. MacNeil, Town of Antigonish

Solicitor General of Canada