Defence lawyer ‘optimistic’ case of alleged breach of government site will end
HALIFAX — A lawyer who represents a young Halifax man alleged to have breached a Nova Scotia government freedom-of-information website says he’s optimistic police and prosecutors will accept the case is too weak to continue.
David Fraser, a privacy lawyer who is leading the 19-year-old’s defence, said Thursday that after meeting with the youth, he’s further convinced he was merely downloading information he believed to be in the public realm.
Fraser said the youth unknowingly gathered some personal information last month that the province should have taken basic steps to protect.
“I’m optimistic that based on all the publicly available information … there’s nothing to suggest a fraudulent or malevolent intent. That’s an essential element of the offence in the Criminal Code … and I don’t see that there,” he said.