Conservative snooping Orwellian
Re They are watching you, April 30 Is it not ironic that a government that claims to be honest, transparent and accountable would lie to us, hide information from us and consistently block the release of information requested in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act? Is it not ironic to have a majority government that was opposed by 60 per cent of the voters? Is it not ironic that this government’s “fair elections act” completely ignores the current system’s failure to represent the will of the “majority” of citizens? Is it not ironic that a government so obsessed with its own secrecy and privacy is so anxious to violate the privacy of the public it supposedly serves? Is it not ironic the leader of this government presents himself as a committed defender of Ukraine’s democracy? Why would Ukrainians deserve democracy more than us? Randy Gostlin, Oshawa Alex Boutilier makes it clear why the telecom companies are so willing, indeed delighted, to co-operate with government spy agencies and deliver up, for just the asking, our private communications for scrutiny. They get paid for it. This is part of their business model, and they profit well from it. George Orwell, author of 1984 (in 1934), would be so smiling. Edward A. Collis, Burlington You don’t suppose that the bulk of these searches are for information on people who posted Liberal or NDP signs on their lawns during the past federal election? A certain Canadian political party having nothing but an address might want to know the names and telephone numbers of these “enemies of the people” so that they might be directed to the wrong polls by the famous “Demon Dialer” during the next vote. Richard Gibbons, Hamilton Re Big Brothers busy friends, Editorial May 1 I thank the Star for highlighting this latest, crucial breach of public trust, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve never felt so hopping mad as I do on learning of this latest, sickeningly brazen violation of the sanctity of private information. It is a clarion call to Canadians that if we sleepwalk through this, we’ll almost certainly be passed the point of no return. Ted Nasmith, Bradford