What is the test for obtaining prior authorization for searches of electronic communications?

The purpose behind the requirement of prior authorization is to ensure that, prior to the search, the conflicting interests of the state and the target of the search are weighed against each other so that the individual's right to privacy will be breached only where it is appropriate to do so. For such a procedure to be meaningful the person authorizing the search must act judicially. (Hunter v. Southam, 1984 CanLII 33 (SCC), [1984] 2 S.C.R. 145 at 162).