Local governments and the growth of surveillance / : OPIC file no. F03-17823

For this reason, we asked a number of larger British Columbia municipalities and organizations to comment on the use of municipal bylaws to require businesses to collect personal information from their employees and customers and make the information available to municipal licensing staff and the police. [...] Local Governments & the Growth of Surveillance 3 Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for BC _____________________________________________________________________________ In the case of adult services such as escort agencies, businesses are typically required to record the identity of employees and customers and make this information available to licensing authorities and police. [...] The UBCM said that its executive, in reviewing the issue of such bylaws and our investigation, “wished to emphasize that the bylaws that your Office is reviewing have been adopted in the interest of protecting citizens and keeping them safe.” The motives of municipal councils in passing such bylaws are not in question–– we recognize that there are valid community concerns about marijuana grow-ops [...] As support, the opinion referred to the decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court in International Escort Services v. Vancouver (City)6 and argued that s. 26 of FIPPA allows the collection of personal information for the purposes of law enforcement, with these surveillance databases being for law enforcement purposes. [...] DRUG PARAPHERNALIA BUSINESS THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Lower Mainland Municipal Association and the Union of BC Municipalities request that the Province amend Section 59 of the Community Charter to give municipalities the clear authority to impose requirements on hydroponics and drug paraphernalia businesses, to the same extent they can impose requirements on second hand businesses.9 The BC