Wiretaps Are Serious Law-Enforcement Tools and Are Not Handed Out Easily

What the public does not realize, perhaps, is the process through which intercept warrants are granted to law enforcement agencies. I have no direct experience in this matter, as I never worked for a law enforcement organization (save for a brief stint as a terrorism consultant for the OPP’s Provincial Anti-Terrorism Section in 2015). I did work for CSIS, however, which has a similar tool called a Section 21 warrant (in law enforcement this instrument is labelled a Part VI warrant). In speaking with former CSIS and RCMP colleagues over the years, I have learned a lot about the procedure required to apply for and receive authority for intercepting a private citizen’s communications.
Is there racism in the OPS? Very likely, as police officers are human and every nook and cranny of modern society harbours those with racist views. Those who serve and protect are not immune from this failing. Is the OPS systemically racist? Probably not: the term has been overused so much of late as to be meaningless.
I do not know how much the public will learn about why these wiretaps were sanctioned as the information is most assuredly very sensitive in nature (as an old intelligence professional, there is nothing more sacrosanct than the protection of sources and methods). What I hope to see in this process is a statement from the judge who signed off on the request that the officers did indeed have “reasonable grounds to believe” that the individuals in question were involved in activities injurious to the public good, thus requiring the extraordinary power of intercept.
We are not Russia or China or Iran, where these legal hurdles are ignored. We live in a democracy where the rule of law applies, and that includes the police. They have to do their due diligence in the carrying out of their duties, even if we do give them special powers (carry a gun, make arrests, etc.). This due diligence applies to wiretaps. Maybe we should give them some credence when they use this tool, and not assume from the start that there are nefarious reasons, i.e., systemic racism, for doing so.