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PIPEDA Implications in Police Search of Passenger Manifest
In a recent decision of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Justice MacDonald held that drug evidence supporting a charge of possession for the purposes of trafficking should be excluded. He based this decision solely on a finding with respect to the police search of the passenger manifest.
The police had attended at the Halifax offices of Westjet Canada, a national air carrier, and, with the permission of Westjet staff, reviewed the passenger manifest. Justice MacDonald observed that the information recorded on the Westjet manifest went to a “biographical core of personal information”. Specifically, the information records could reveal physical or mental disabilities, allergies or religious affiliations. The Court noted that this information was not available to the public. Thus, such highly personal information would be protected under Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Notably, the Court observed that even if the police had made a request to view the information under PIPEDA, the request would have been denied since, in this situation, the police were merely “fishing” for information. While PIPEDA allows for the release of personal information for specific law enforcement purposes such as official, active investigations and intelligence gathering, that does not mean the police were entitled to simply consult the manifest whenever they wanted to see whether anything suspicious had arisen.
For additional information, visit:
http://www.it-can.ca/newsletters/030609.pdf