Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is rigorously defending an online surveillance Bill he introduced last week. It is designed to protect children from Internet predators. Critics say the bill goes too far by allowing authorities open access into Canadians' private lives.

Toews responds this Bill simply gives Canadian police the same powers that police in the U.S. and Europe already have. "This legislation is consistent with what all other western European countries have, what the American states have. We're bringing police powers in line with what other countries have."

Toews adds the Bill would allow only designated officers to access this information and they would only be able to skim the surface. They would then require a warrant from a judge before gaining access to the substantive contents of e-mails or web-surfing activities. He notes, "Some people have said, why shouldn't there be a warrant for the identifying information. In fact, the problem is, without the identifying information, which is not intrusive, which doesn't deal with the substance of the e-mails, without that identifying information, you can't get a warrant, so it's a bit of a catch-22. Therefore this legal framework will create transparency, accountability of the police and also measures by which we can then protect our children."

Toews says he looks forward to input from other Members of Parliament, once they see the full contents of the legislation, to make sure it complies with constitutional safeguards in terms of privacy and gives police the tools they need to apprehend child pornographers.