The Senate passed the Interception of Communications or “wiretap” Act Friday, giving the police and the military increased powers to tap the telephones of individuals suspected or accused of criminal involvement.

Although the Act requires that a judge in chamber must approve the interception of information, the commissioner of police or the chief of staff of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) can now authorise the tapping of additional telephones, without prior court approval, as long as a warrant had already been approved for the individual, and as long as an application is made to the court for approval within seven days of the action.

The bill also places an obligation on telecommunications service providers to assume the cost of establishing and maintaining the capacity of their networks to intercept calls, pursuant to a warrant. They can recover “resonable” costs, as long as it is approved by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), subsequently.

The bill empowers the minister to make regulations prescribing minimum requirements for securing compliance and the apportionment and recovery of the costs of compliance, or of providing information, facilities or technical assistance.

The companies will also have to disclose to authorised officers technical information requested to investigate or prosecute criminal offences.

Opening the debate, Attorney-General and Justice Minister AJ Nicholson said that the bill was an “effective and essential weapon in the armoury of law enforcement”.

He noted that the security forces could only carry out the interceptions with the authorisation of a judge of the Supreme Court. But the amendment allowed for the warrant to authorise wiretapping to and from one or more addresses of a particular person, or a particular number of premises.

This effectively deals with the complaint from the security forces that the original Act hampered the effectiveness of the process as, under the previous provisions, the warrant was limited to only those addresses (defined in the Act as a location, telephone number, e-mail address or other number that can be used to identify a telecommunications network or apparatus) listed in relation to a specific person or address.

This requirement was said to have resulted in the need to issue several warrants, in cases where targeted individuals changed telephone numbers frequently, subsequent to the issuing of the warrant, and new applications had to be authorised by the court.

“The new warrant will authorise interception to and from all the addresses listed in the warrant,” he said.

He said that the list can be changed after notice is given to the chief justice of addition or change of addresses. These modifications can be effective for seven days without an application being filed for approval by a judge in chambers.

Nicholson said that discussions were held between the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Enegry and Commerce for an amendment to the Telecommunications Act to provide that telecommunications companies assume responsibility for the cost of establishing and maintaining interception capabilities.

He also pointed out that currently, there is no law requiring telecommunications companies to provide information to the security forces and some have resisted on that ground.

“It isn’t only out of the goodness of their heart that some do it,” Nicholson said. “It is our intention to have this regime help us in the fight against these dangerous crime networks, especially cross-border crimes.”

Speaking on behalf of the Opposition, Senator Trevor MacMillan, said that his side fully supported the bill.

“The security forces need all the resources they can possibly get to make this country a safer and a better place,” he said.

However, he said that there is a history of abuse of such power and there should be constant auditing of the activity, “to ensure that nobody uses their office to abuse the power of this piece of legislation”.

He noted also that on one occasion persons who were required to give evidence for a telecommunications company in a case had resigned instead and migrated in fear. He said that this was a real problem which needed to be addressed.

The bill was passed in the House of Representatives on November 28.

Balfordh@jjamaicaobserver.com

Tufton’s Petrocaribe comments inflame Government senators

Senator Christopher Tufton has been one of the most outspoken members of the Senate since he replaced Bruce Golding nearly two years ago.

Dr Tufton, who hopes to sit in the House of Representatives next year, is determined to let his voice be heard, however controversial, and appears not to be restricted by what is considered Senate protocol.

Well, last Thursday, he seemed to have angered the Government members of the Senate during the debate on the amendment to the Petroleum Act, providing for the setting up of the Petrocaribe Development Fund, to administer the savings under the Venezuelan oil agreement.

Government senators Delano Franklyn, Trevor Munroe, AJ Nicholson and Anthony Hylton all directed their responses at Tufton’s suggestion that more Jamaicans were convinced that the Government was more interested in pursuing “selfish, partisan” motives rather than the well-being of the country.

One could say that Tufton might have gone out of his way to attract this kind of attention, after suggesting that “given the perception of waste, misappropriation and corruption” the right thing for “a responsible government to do” was to use the opportunity to send a signal to the public that it was concerned about these perceptions, by providing for full Parliamentary control over the use of the funds.

Franklyn referred to an attempt to stage a demonstration during the visit to Jamaica of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and some Caricom prime ministers to sign the Petrocaribe agreement in Montego Bay.

This brought the Leader of Opposition Business, Senator Anthony Johnson, to his feet to demand that Senator Franklyn withdraw the suggestion that the Opposition had organised a demonstration against Chavez.

However, Franklyn said he did not say that. What he said was that a demonstration was organised to coincide with the visit, he explained.

As far as Franklyn was concerned, “no government in the history of Jamaica” has put in more measures to ensure transparency and accountability than this Government.

Things got worse when Opposition member, Senator Trevor MacMillan, said that since his appointment to the Senate two months ago, “on no occasion has any suggestion of the Opposition been taken into consideration (by the Government side).”

Colonel MacMillan warned the Government of the danger of ignoring the considerations of the Opposition in the Senate. This angered the Government side even more.

Realising that temperatures were rising, Opposition member, Senator Dwight Nelson, suggested that the debate should have been “devoid of emotionalism”.

He reinforced the view that the Government should listen to the view of the Opposition that the use of the Petrocaribe funds be “transparent, above board and in the national interest”. And he didn’t feel that, in making this point, the Opposition should have created the level of “outrage and indignation” he saw on the other side.

Senator Nicholson credited Nelson with “lifting” the level of the debate and suggested that he attends more sittings. However, Nicholson was concerned how the Press would have covered the exchange.

He felt that some sections of the Press would put it in a way he probably would not approve of. But then, he admitted, that other sections of the Press would report it another way, in any case.

“I’ve seen how matters debated here are reported in certain sections of the Press,” he commented. “Let us ask that the bar be lifted all around.”

Fortunately, Thursday’s sitting of the Upper House, which preceded the senators’ annual Christmas luncheon downstairs in the members’ lounge, ended on a happier note, with both sides agreeing that Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport should be upgraded to the level of the Sangster International in Montego Bay. And after wishing the Press a Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year, Parliament broke for the season.

100% hike in departure tax at Manley Airport

The US$5 airport levy paid by passengers departing the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston has been increased by 100 per cent.

The new fee of US$10 (J$660) takes effect March 1 next year.

The increase in the fee, which is used for the development of the airport, was approved in the House of Representatives on December 6 and by the Senate last Thursday.

During the Senate debate, the Leader of Government Business, A J Nicholson, said that the increase was a necessary prerequisite to a US$51-million loan to the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) by the European Investment Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank for the expansion and upgrading of the airport.

He said that the improvements were timely, in terms of the comparisons between the recently upgraded Sangster International Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay, and the NMIA, which needs urgent upgrading and expansion.

Government Senator Noel Sloley said that the NMIA now had to find a way to finance not only some of its own operations, but to contribute more to the economy of Kingston.

He said that there was a need to improve the retail facilities to encourage passengers to spend more money, while using the terminal, including at recently introduced duty-free shopping outlets for incoming passengers.

He said that the increase in the levy should have no negative impact on the airport’s revenues, as the new figure fell well within the range of those imposed by other airports in the region.

Senator Norman Grant used the opportunity to call on Air Jamaica to provide increased facilities for the importation of animals, like goats which, he said, the airline refused to carry. He said that the only facility for importing animals was via Air Canada at the Sangster International.

“I am asking that both the airport and the airline seek to facilitate the smooth unloading of animals, like goats, as a move to ensure the development of the industry and reduce our dependence on imported goat meat,” Senator Grant said.

He noted that despite a demand for some 2.5 million pounds of goat meat annually, the country could only produce about half-a-million pounds.

But Leader of Opposition Business Senator Anthony Johnson said that the country would be better off depending on artificial insemination to increase its goat population, rather than the importation of the animals.

“It increases the risk of importing animal diseases and the only way to reduce this risk is to reduce the importation of the animals and use embryo implants or artificial insemination,” Senator Johnson said.

Opposition Senator Dorothy Lightbourne agreed that the newly upgraded SIA was a welcomed sight and suggested that if the increase in the levy at the NMIA was similarly used, the money would be well spent.