On August 7th, Justice Fuerst of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that the police did not breach an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy by receiving information from two banks and using the information to obtain restraint orders.
The judgement is notable for the Court’s recognition of the banks’ legitimate interest in providing voluntary assistance to the police. Justice Fuerst said:
The bank was directly implicated in allegations of money-laundering. It had a legitimate interest in preventing the criminal misuse of its services, particularly in circumstances where accounts associated to the applicant were alleged to be offence-related property subject to forfeiture.
Disclosing personal information to the police (within certain parameters) is permitted by section sections 7(3)(c.1) and 7(3)(d) of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which Justice Fuerst noted in her reasonable expectation of privacy analysis. Section 7(3)(d) authorizes disclosures initiated by commercial organizations. Notably, Justice Fuerst held that section 7(3)(d) allows for some two-way dialogue between the disclosing organization and the police: “It is unreasonable to interpret s. 7(3)(d) so narrowly that police officers to whom information is given by organizations like banks about possible criminal activity can do no more than passively receive it and are prevented from asking for specifics or details necessary to take steps in response.”
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