The Trespass to Property Act Essay Online for Free

Assignment: Tresspass to Property Act Ontario Powers of Arrest/Search The Trespass to Property Act has proven to be a very viable provincial law. It has been used countlessly to protect the interest of owners in charge of property, and has been used to apprehend those who have committed misconduct in relation to that property. Needless to say, the Trespass to Property Act has opened a gateway to legal authority over individuals who are citizens and not peace officers, in order to exercise their powers and to make arrests. Within this paper, I will be discussing with further detail as to what the Trespass to Property Act is, explaining the jurisdictions which security guards, or those in charge of the property have under the Trespass to Property Act, as well as previous cases which have dealt with the Trespass to Property Act. As mentioned before, the Trespass to Property Act is a provincial law within Ontario Canada that deals with illegal activity or entry conducted onto private or public property (Service Canada e-laws). Thus, since it is a provincial law, any punishments or mechanisms of enforcement would also be provincial (Service Canada e-laws). The Trespass to Property Act is an effort to arrange what was previously known by the common law. In most case scenarios, the act is used by private-property owners only to keep undesirable persons off of their assets (Service Canada e-laws). Although this act is not only limited to prohibited entry of individuals. An individual may also be charged under this act if he or she engages in any sorts of prohibited activity on the premises, or does not exit the location as soon as possible after being told to do so by the occupant or a person authorized by the occupier (Service Canada e-laws). Furthermore there is a specific color of right defense, where if the accused who is being charged under the Trespass of Property Act had been involved with a situation of land claim and he or she truly believed that they were entitled to it, then the charge may be dropped (Service Canada e-laws). Prohibited entry may be indicated with or without indication if the premises is a garden, field, or other land that is under agriculture.

This includes lawns, vineyards, and areas where trees have been planted before reaching an average height of two meters and woodlots used on land for unindustrialized reasons (Service Canada e-laws). Furthermore, entry is also prohibited amongst areas that are enclosed and that indicate the owners or authorized owner’s intention to keep people or animals away (Service Canada e-laws). On the other hand, if the property is not enclosed with indication of prohibited entry, and has doors which implicates approach then it is okay to do so (Service Canada e-laws). Under the Trespass of Property Act, methods of giving notice may be given in several ways. A notice may be given either orally or in writing, by means of signs posted so that the sign is visible in daylight and normal conditions, as well as by means of the marketing system which is in section 7 of the act (Service Canada e-laws). In essence the Trespass of Property Act enriches our quality of life in terms of our rights and freedoms. In terms of the jurisdiction amongst anyone including security guards, anyone authorized by the owner, the owner itself and even police officers, the Trespass of Property Act allows arrests without a warrant if he or she believes that on reasonable and probably grounds that there is an infringement of section 2 subsection 1 amongst the premises (Service Canada e-laws). In relation to this, the act also mentions that anyone who makes an arrest and is not a police officer is required to call for the assistance of an officer and hand the suspect who has been arrested to police custody (Service Canada e-laws). If in any case, a police officer believes on reasonable and probably grounds that an individual has made a violation of section 2 and has just left the area, and the suspect refuses to give a name or address to the police officer, then the officer may arrest without a warrant (Service Canada e-laws). On the other hand, if the officer has reasonable and probably grounds to believe that the information given is false, then he may also arrest without a warrant (Service Canada e-laws). Furthermore, if by any chance that an offence was committed by a motor vehicle or by a motorized snow vehicle, then the driver of the vehicle is responsible to the fine provided under this act (Service Canada e-laws). Lastly, there have been many real life situations where the Trespass to Property Act has been used in laying charges. In the case of R. v. Asante-Mensah, a taxi driver was repeatedly “scooping” fares from the arrivals of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, and was doing so without a permit (Lexum, 2015). Under the Trespass of Property Act he had received notice under section 3 although continued to do so anyway (Lexum, 2015). This prohibited him entry for any purpose from the airport. The taxi driver continued to brush off these fines and eventually the airport decided to put an end to the problem with the taxi drivers. The actions the airport decided to take was to use their powers of “citizen’s” arrest under section 9 of the Trespass of Property Act (Lexum, 2015). Evidently, an airport inspector had appeared and approached the accused, while touching him on the shoulder, and advising him that he was under arrest for trespassing and that he would be detained until the police show up (Lexum, 2015). In response, the accused entered his vehicle and escaped. During the trial, the judge came to the conclusion that the accused could not be sentenced of resisting a lawful arrest since the inspector had used “reasonable force” even though he was not sanctioned to do so (Lexum, 2015). Unfortunately, this is not the only incident of such misconduct. There are other incidents involved where the taxi of the accused was sitting at a curb unattended while two inspectors approached the vehicle, along with another “scoopers” car.

Once the Inspector saw the taxi driver, he then approached him, and touched him on the shoulder while informing him he was under arrest for trespassing and that he would be detained until the police arrived. The suspect responded by shoving his car door into the inspector which had caused the inspector to back away (Lexum, 2015). The driver of the taxi then proceeded to get in his vehicle and drive away, escaping the scene.

Because of this incident, there was eventually a charge of assault with intent to resist arrest laid on the suspect (Lexum, 2015). Furthermore, the accused was also charged with escaping lawful custody (Lexum, 2015). In conclusion, the Trespass of Property Act implements an order of legal protection amongst lands, buildings, or any other of such property. Throughout this paper, the specifics of what the Trespass of Property Act is, has been covered as well as its detailed information regarding its purpose as one of our provincial laws. Not only that, but the powers which individuals hold under the Trespass of Property Act such as security guards (including regular citizens), and police officers has also been discussed, as well as how such powers are exercised and for what reasons. With further regard, the paper has also demonstrated examples of cases which have dealt with charges concerning the Trespass of Property Act, and with what the outcome of these cases were.

Hence, the importance of the Trespass of Property Act was established by demonstrating prevailed justice. From picking the topic about the Trespass of Property Act, I have personally been able to make connections to certain instances in my lifetime where I believe I may have been able to exercise my powers of a citizen’s arrest as well. Having said that, I can also recall to moments of my life where I myself may have been in trouble with regards to the Trespass of Property Act, being the devilish child I was in elementary school. Evidently, I have learned that this provincial statute may actually be more over – looked than it actually is, seeing that many citizens may not be aware of the powers of arrest which they have in terms of this act. Personally I believe that this act is able to give Canadian citizens within Ontario a greater sense of freedom and ownership of their property and belongings given the powers associated with it, and be able to make appropriate decisions whether to exercise those powers once the circumstances present themselves. Reference Material https://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90t21_e.htm https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2071/index.do Works Cited Trespass to Property Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. T.21. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2015, from https://www.elaws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90t21_e.m Supreme Court Judgments. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2015, from https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2071/index.do

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