Lethbridge Police vehicle. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Questions remain of how police can handle phone searches with new digital auto insurance system

Aug 16, 2019 | 10:36 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Earlier this week, the Government of Alberta announced a new system where drivers can have their car insurance information digitally on their mobile devices rather than uses the standard paper documents. More details here.

Upon request, insurance companies would be able to send customers that information directly through their apps. You are still allowed to have a paper copy instead.

After posting the story about this to Lethbridge News Now’s social media accounts, some readers were quick to question whether this could potentially result in violations of privacy.

In response to this, LNN reached out to both Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) and the provincial Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General.

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Jason van Rassel, a Communications Advisor for the Ministry, said that “the actions of police officers are governed by the terms of the [Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms] – including provisions against unreasonable search and seizure.”

“Police services have the authority to make operational decisions independently of government, and it will be their responsibility to ensure officers carry out this task in a way that complies with the Charter,” reads the statement from Rassel.

He adds that the courts and the independent judiciary are there to ensure that police comply with the Charter provisions.

However, Kristen Harding, the Strategic Communications Manager for LPS, said that, “At this time we have no information from the province as to what the legislation will look like or allow.”

The statement from LPS suggested that we contact the government directly, while the government told us that “questions about how officers will be instructed to handle digital insurance cards should be directed to individual police services.”