Every government seems to want to intercept communications against the people's wishes. What do they understand that I don't?
Uhm, terrorism?
I'm not saying it's a good excuse, but it seems to have been the primary driver of, well, pretty much everything for the past decade.
> ... against the people's wishes.
Not so much, no. You'll be surprised/scared to learn how widespread the "if you haven't done anything wrong, you've got nothing to hide" line of thinking is outside our circles.
There's also the more dramatic explanation about how this all boils down to a power struggle between the haves and the have-nots, but I prefer the making-cops-happier explanation. There are plenty of good cops in every country, but law enforcement has a lot of solidarity built into its ranks, so police-related groups can sway many votes. Harper would do anything for a few thousand extra votes.
...just sayin' ;)