OAK BAYNEWS
BOORMAN’S SINCE 1933
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Legal points are moot
All for chair-ity
University of Victoria law students use the limited space of Twitter to argue a mock court case. News, Page A3
Eric Charman hosts annual fundraiser for a trio of Greater Victoria arts organizations. Arts, Page A14
2045 Cadboro Bay Rd, Victoria
250-595-1535 www.boorman.com
Watch for breaking news at www.oakbaynews.com
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Police back online spy bill Proposed legislation could buy investigators time Erin McCracken News staff
Don Descoteau/News staff
Spring training comes early
Proposed federal legislation that is drawing heat from privacy critics would bring policing tools in line with the other G8 nations, police officers in the Capital Region say. The federal government’s proposed Bill C-30, known as the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, will soon be reviewed by a special committee before it returns to the House of Commons. One component of the bill – which sparked the most public outrage – would require Internet providers and cellphone companies to give inquiring police officers their customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and Internet protocol addresses. Currently, companies voluntarily turn over these details, without requiring a warrant, most of the time, Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews said last week. But he said the process takes too long. Sometimes police aren’t given customer details they asked for, said Oak Bay police Chief Mark Fisher. “They’d tell you to get a warrant.”
Jai Berezowski, 7, connects with the ball as brother Finn, 9, watches during an impromptu baseball practice at Willows elementary. The boys’ dad, Mike, had his boys out for a pre-season workout Sunday afternoon on the school field.
Pinning down history: Ryan Flaherty News staff
Imagine being able to travel through time without ever leaving home. That’s the thinking behind a new website which combines a region’s history and geography. The site, historypin.com, has
piqued the interest of Oak Bay Heritage Commission members. The site allows users to “pin” historic images to a map, allowing visitors to take a virtual tour of the past of a particular location. And thanks to the site’s use of Google street view, viewers can take it a step further and look at
BAY
tomf@vreb.bc.ca
New online resource provides a window to Oak Bay’s past
photos superimposed over a current view of the same location, creating a before-and-after effect. The Heritage Commission sees the site as an opportunity to share some of Oak Bay’s history with a wider audience. With this being Heritage Week in B.C., it seemed like the perfect
OAK
PLEASE SEE: Surveillance bill, Page A4
time to get on board, said the commission member spearheading the initiative. “Part of our mandate is to educate the public and to share our heritage resources and make them more well-known to the general public,” said Ben Clinton-Baker. “What we’re hoping to do with
this is put a positive spin on Oak Bay heritage and the work of the commission in general.” Using archival photos, ClintonBaker is creating the municipality’s first virtual tour on the site. PLEASE SEE: Virtual history tours, Page A6
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