According to this British thinktank, Canada has yet to slip as low as the UK and USA when it comes to citizen surveillance, although they mention that our privacy is under threat here too.

Apparently since I'm a new user I'm not allowed to post links, but you can find them easily:

Story: Google 'International Herald Tribune Individual privacy under threat in Europe and U.S., report says'

Comparative map: Google 'privacy international The 2007 International Privacy Ranking'

From the article:

* Privacy not mentioned in Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but courts have recognised the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy
* Statutory rules at the federal level (public and private sectors) and provincial laws apply to sectors and governments
* Federal commission is widely recognised as lacking in powers such as order-marking powers, and ability to regulate trans-border data flows
* Variety of provincial privacy commissioners have made privacy-enhancing decisions and taken cases through the courts over the past year (particularly Ontario)
* Court orders required for interception and there is no reasonable alternative method of investigation
* Video surveillance is spreading despite guidelines from privacy commissioners
* Highly controversial no-fly list, lacking legal mandate
* Continues to threaten new policy on online surveillance
* Increased calls for biometric documents to cater for U.S. pressure, while plans are still unclear for biometric passports

No mention of the 10,000 live monitored cameras that the TTC is going to put in on the public transit network here in Toronto.

What about you? Are we slipping into a police state here despite our reasonably good rating? What about the US and Britain (with it's incredible array of surveillance cameras in London)? Are you cool with this?

tehowe