Conservatives more likely to support border device searches: survey

Supporters of the federal Conservative party are more likely than those with other party affiliations to approve of warrantless searches of electronic devices by Canadian border officers, according to a survey by Forum Research. The survey, which was taken between August 16 and 17 and released Monday, found only 34 per cent of Conservative supporters disapproved of the practice, with 50 per cent in support — the only political demographic to have more support than opposition to the practice, the survey showed. The survey results were first reported by the Hill Times, which is owned by The Wire Report’s parent Hill Times Publishing. In comparison, 51 per cent of Liberal supporters were opposed, with 33 per cent approving. New Democrat supporters were 54 per cent against (25 per cent for), while 57 per cent of Green Party backers opposed (28 per cent approved) warrantless border searches. Meanwhile, of the Bloc Quebecois-affiliated respondents, 37 per cent approved and 44 per cent disapproved. Among all those surveyed, 30 per cent strongly disapproved of searching devices like laptops and cell phones at the border without a warrant. Overall, almost half of voters disapproved, while 22 per cent strongly approved of the practice and 37 per cent approved. “There is a clear ideological divide on the issue, but generally opinion skews toward privacy over security,” Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff said in a Monday press release. The poll was based on a telephone survey of 1,150 randomly selected Canadian voters, with a margin of error of three percentage points, 19 times out of 20, the report noted. The issue of warrantless searches was first brought before the House of Commons’ standing committee on access to information, privacy and ethics in June, where civil liberties groups argued that the practice is an affront to Canadians’ right to privacy at the border. The federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien previously suggested to the House of Commons committee on public safety and national security to bring devices searches at the border on an equal footing to searches of individuals when it reviews Bill C-23.

Conservatives more likely to support border device searches: survey

Brief | August 22, 2017

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Conservatives more likely to support border device searches: survey

Brief | August 22, 2017

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