According to Michael Geist, one of the major unanswered questions about Bill C-30 is “who will pay for the costs associated with responding to law enforcement demands for subscriber information (“look ups”) and installation of surveillance equipment (“hook ups”)”?

Turns out, it is you, dear citizen, and your grandma.

Geist recently obtained documents from Public Safety under the Access to Information Act that reveal the hidden costs, that is, financial ones, to taxpayers.

As if costs to society were not enough, or costs that ISPs would have to bear (and ultimately pass onto consumers), the Bill C-30 is revealed to be far more venomous.

According to the documents, RCMP and CSIS have in mind to develop a “public safety tax” that would simply appear on your cell phone or internet bill.

Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police claims that it should not be burdened with the costs of these additional operations, instead burdening the taxpayers with the costs of warantless wiretapping of Canadians.

For more information, visit Michael Geist blog here
or read the documentation for yourself here.