Utilities may place DRA for police without warrant

In R. v. Gomboc, released last week, the Supreme Court considered whether the police violated the accused’s s. 8 rights by asking his electrical utility to install a digital recording ammeter to monitor his electrical usage. The majority held that it did not for various reasons (4 held that there was no expectation of privacy in such data, 3 that the expectation was defeated by regulation allowing the accused to opt-in to confidentiality). McLachlin C.J. (with Fish J.) dissented, stating “when we subscribe for public services, we do not authorize the police to conscript the utilities concerned to enter our homes, physically or electronically, for the purpose of pursuing their criminal investigations without prior judicial authorization.”