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2015-01-12 23:26:41 UTC
The Canadian Press - Published Monday, Jan. 12 2015
Mounties refuse to pay Rogers fees for tracking suspects’ cellphones
OTTAWA — The RCMP and many other police forces are refusing to pay new fees
imposed by Rogers Communications for helping track suspects through their
mobile phones.
Police say the telecommunications firm is legally obligated to provide such
court-ordered services and to cover the cost as part of its duty to society.
Rogers says while it picks up the tab for most judicially approved requests, in
some cases it will charge a minimal fee.
The quietly simmering dispute underscores long-standing tensions over who
should pay when police call on telephone and Internet providers to help
investigate cases.
It began late last May, when Rogers wrote to RCMP divisions and other police
services across Canada to say it would usher in new fees to law enforcement on
Aug. 1. The fees applied to help in executing warrants for tracking
customers’ movements through cellphone data, and for production of affidavits
certifying records in cases where testimony is required to explain the records
in court.
RCMP officials responsible for covert operations told their superiors in a June
briefing note there was no legal basis for the planned fees and that Rogers
could be charged under the Criminal Code for failing to comply with a court
order if it refused to provide the services unless compensated.
The note, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act,
points to a 2008 Supreme Court of Canada decision in which the judges said
companies would generally be expected to comply with court orders on their own
dime unless costs became unreasonable.
In the case at hand, the court said it was not unreasonable for Tele-Mobile Co.
to pay annual costs of between $400,000 and $800,000 to comply with production
orders.
The RCMP note suggested that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police be
asked to issue a collective response to Rogers that “police will not be paying
the fees requested.”
The association’s board was briefed in late June, and early the next month the
chiefs recommended to police services that they not sign “acknowledgment of
fees” notices distributed by Rogers.
“It is the [association’s] view that police services throughout Canada should
not be required to bear the costs associated with court-ordered activities,”
the recommendation said. “The demand for these services will only increase as
electronic crimes committed over mobile services continues to grow.”
The chiefs interpret the Supreme Court decision as requiring Rogers to “bear
the reasonable burdens of compliance with such orders as part of its general
corporate responsibility to the community,” said Tim Smith, a spokesman for the
association.
Rogers spokesman Kevin Spafford said the company dropped the demand for fees
related to affidavits prior to the Aug. 1 changes.
However, where possible Rogers does recover costs for location tracking of
mobile devices, Spafford said.
“For most court-ordered requests for information, we assume all costs
associated with providing a response,” he said. “In some cases we charge a
minimal fee to recover our costs based on the work required to comply with
requests.”
It was up to individual police services to decide whether to sign the Rogers
agreements, Smith said.
However, the association understands that “a vast majority” heeded the
recommendation and are not paying the fees, he added.
Smith stressed that – the current disagreement notwithstanding – police
services across Canada “enjoy a positive business relationship” with Rogers.
Sergeant Greg Cox, an RCMP spokesman, also said there had been “no substantive
change” in the force’s dealings with Rogers or other telecommunications firms.
Rogers, the RCMP and the chiefs’ association all refused to say how much money
the company is requesting under the new fee structure.
Although they have concerns about the new Rogers fees, the Mounties did pay
more than $2-million to telecom firms in 2012-13 in connection with customer
information and intercept-related activities, the force says.
“The RCMP is working with all major telcos to determine sustainability of the
current situation and associated costs,” Cox said.
Mounties refuse to pay Rogers fees for tracking suspects’ cellphones
OTTAWA — The RCMP and many other police forces are refusing to pay new fees
imposed by Rogers Communications for helping track suspects through their
mobile phones.
Police say the telecommunications firm is legally obligated to provide such
court-ordered services and to cover the cost as part of its duty to society.
Rogers says while it picks up the tab for most judicially approved requests, in
some cases it will charge a minimal fee.
The quietly simmering dispute underscores long-standing tensions over who
should pay when police call on telephone and Internet providers to help
investigate cases.
It began late last May, when Rogers wrote to RCMP divisions and other police
services across Canada to say it would usher in new fees to law enforcement on
Aug. 1. The fees applied to help in executing warrants for tracking
customers’ movements through cellphone data, and for production of affidavits
certifying records in cases where testimony is required to explain the records
in court.
RCMP officials responsible for covert operations told their superiors in a June
briefing note there was no legal basis for the planned fees and that Rogers
could be charged under the Criminal Code for failing to comply with a court
order if it refused to provide the services unless compensated.
The note, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act,
points to a 2008 Supreme Court of Canada decision in which the judges said
companies would generally be expected to comply with court orders on their own
dime unless costs became unreasonable.
In the case at hand, the court said it was not unreasonable for Tele-Mobile Co.
to pay annual costs of between $400,000 and $800,000 to comply with production
orders.
The RCMP note suggested that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police be
asked to issue a collective response to Rogers that “police will not be paying
the fees requested.”
The association’s board was briefed in late June, and early the next month the
chiefs recommended to police services that they not sign “acknowledgment of
fees” notices distributed by Rogers.
“It is the [association’s] view that police services throughout Canada should
not be required to bear the costs associated with court-ordered activities,”
the recommendation said. “The demand for these services will only increase as
electronic crimes committed over mobile services continues to grow.”
The chiefs interpret the Supreme Court decision as requiring Rogers to “bear
the reasonable burdens of compliance with such orders as part of its general
corporate responsibility to the community,” said Tim Smith, a spokesman for the
association.
Rogers spokesman Kevin Spafford said the company dropped the demand for fees
related to affidavits prior to the Aug. 1 changes.
However, where possible Rogers does recover costs for location tracking of
mobile devices, Spafford said.
“For most court-ordered requests for information, we assume all costs
associated with providing a response,” he said. “In some cases we charge a
minimal fee to recover our costs based on the work required to comply with
requests.”
It was up to individual police services to decide whether to sign the Rogers
agreements, Smith said.
However, the association understands that “a vast majority” heeded the
recommendation and are not paying the fees, he added.
Smith stressed that – the current disagreement notwithstanding – police
services across Canada “enjoy a positive business relationship” with Rogers.
Sergeant Greg Cox, an RCMP spokesman, also said there had been “no substantive
change” in the force’s dealings with Rogers or other telecommunications firms.
Rogers, the RCMP and the chiefs’ association all refused to say how much money
the company is requesting under the new fee structure.
Although they have concerns about the new Rogers fees, the Mounties did pay
more than $2-million to telecom firms in 2012-13 in connection with customer
information and intercept-related activities, the force says.
“The RCMP is working with all major telcos to determine sustainability of the
current situation and associated costs,” Cox said.