Which is NOT a way to give notice that entry is prohibited under the Trespass to Property Act?
Ontario Private Investigator overview
Ontario Private Investigator: Trespass to Property Act and other statutes
Occupiers and authorized persons, the three ways to commit trespass, notice by voice, writing, signs and red or yellow markings, arrest and handover to police, the $10,000 maximum fine, and the other Ontario statutes the syllabus names, including the Highway Traffic Act on surveillance.
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Study reference: Ontario Private Investigator Study Guide (ontario.ca, October 2021), Ch. 3 Provincial and federal statutes — Additional legislation, Trespass to Property Act; Trespass to Property Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. T.21
All 10 questions in this test
Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.
Which is NOT a way to give notice that entry is prohibited under the Trespass to Property Act?
- Using red markings at the access points
- Telling the person orally
- Mailing a notice to the local police division
- Posting signs visible at each normal entrance
To serve a document, you must get inside an apartment building with a locked lobby. What applies?
- You may enter if you show your licence to the superintendent
- You may follow a resident in, since service is urgent
- Serving a court document overrides the building's rules
- You must still comply with the Trespass to Property Act
What is the maximum fine on conviction for trespass under the Trespass to Property Act?
- $2,000
- $5,000
- $25,000
- $10,000
Under the Trespass to Property Act, who can be an occupier of premises?
- Only a tenant with a written lease
- Only the person named as the registered owner on the land title
- Anyone in physical possession or in control of the premises
- Only a person who lives on the premises
What do yellow markings posted at the entrances to a property mean?
- Entry is allowed, but only during daylight
- The property is under video surveillance
- Entry is prohibited except for certain permitted activities
- Entry is prohibited for everyone at all times, with no exceptions at all
An authorized person arrests a trespasser under the Trespass to Property Act. What must they do next?
- Hold the person until the occupier decides on charges
- Release the person once they give their name and address
- Promptly call police and hand the person into police custody
- Take the person's photo and escort them off the land
Besides the Trespass to Property Act, which Ontario statute does the PI syllabus list as relevant, especially for undercover work?
- The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997
- The Highway 407 East Act, 2012
- The Ontario Heritage Act
- The Employment Standards Act, 2000
Which of these is one of the ways to commit trespass under the Trespass to Property Act?
- Using the normal path to knock on a front door
- Taking a photo of a building from the street
- Refusing to leave right away when the occupier says to go
- Walking on a public sidewalk that runs beside someone's private land
While following a subject's car, the subject runs a red light. What should you do?
- Obey the Highway Traffic Act and stop at the light
- Follow through the light to avoid losing the subject
- Run the light only if no other cars are nearby
- Flash your headlights so traffic lets you through
You go up a house's front walk to knock and ask the resident a question. What does the Act presume?
- Entry is trespass unless a sign invites visitors
- Any entry on residential land needs written permission
- Access to the door for a lawful purpose is not prohibited
- Entry is allowed only if the owner is home
Trespass to Property Act and other statutes: key rules to remember
Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗
Trespass to Property Act
- The Act lets the occupier of private premises decide who may be there, and lets the occupier authorize others to act for them.
- s. 2(1): trespass offence = entering where entry is prohibited, doing a prohibited activity, or not leaving immediately when told to by the occupier or an authorized person.
- s. 2(1): maximum fine on conviction is $10,000.
- s. 5: notice can be given orally, in writing, by signs visible from each normal access point, or by the red/yellow marking system.
- s. 7: red markings mean entry is prohibited; yellow markings mean entry is prohibited except for certain permitted activities; markings must fit a circle 10 cm in diameter.
- s. 3(2): there is a presumption that using the normal approach to a building's door for a lawful purpose is not prohibited.
- s. 9: the occupier or a person they authorize may arrest without warrant a person believed on reasonable and probable grounds to be trespassing, and must promptly call police and hand the person over.
Trespass and document service
- When serving documents (e.g. in an apartment building), a PI must still comply with the Trespass to Property Act; serving a document never justifies an offence.
Additional legislation
- PIs should also know the Employment Standards Act, 2000, Labour Relations Act, 1995, Liquor Licence Act, Provincial Offences Act and Residential Tenancies Act, 2006; the syllabus adds the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- Syllabus: these are especially relevant when working undercover; PIs need only know them as they affect their role and must stay within lawful authority.
- The Highway Traffic Act still applies during mobile surveillance: obey it even if the subject speeds or runs a red light.
Residential Tenancies Act link
- A PI licensee may not act in an eviction under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, collect accounts or act as a bailiff.
Study the Trespass to Property Act and other statutes rules as flashcards →
Other topics
- The PI industry and getting licensedWho needs an Ontario private investigator licence under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005, who is exempt, the six licence types, eligibility (age 18, clean criminal record, right to work, training and testing), the 50-hour training syllabus, approved training providers and the licence term.
- PSISA rules, Code of Conduct and complaintsCarrying and producing your licence, the undercover exception, the ban on badges and on words such as detective and officer, the Code of Conduct (O. Reg. 363/07), public complaints and facilitation, refusals and appeals, work a PI may not do, and the penalties for breaking the Act.
- Privacy law: PIPEDA, FIPPA and MFIPPAHow PIPEDA's consent rules limit what personal information an investigation business can collect, use and disclose, the exceptions for publicly available information and investigations, access to government records under FIPPA and MFIPPA, and industry practice on expectations of privacy, hidden cameras, audio and GPS trackers.
- Evidence: types, Evidence Acts and chain of custodyDirect, circumstantial, hearsay, documentary (illustrative), real, trace, opinion and unsworn evidence, admissions, business records under the Ontario Evidence Act and Canada Evidence Act, and the six core steps for containing evidence and keeping a chain of custody.
- Criminal Code: arrest, force and offencesWhy a PI has only a citizen's powers, arrest without warrant under section 494, delivering a person to police, use of force under sections 25 to 27, defence of person and property, Charter rights on arrest and detention, and the offences the study guide names: theft, false pretences, fraud and kidnapping.
- Courts, intimidation, harassment and civil lawThe Canadian court system, burden of proof in criminal and civil cases, intimidation under section 423, criminal harassment under section 264, interception of private communications under section 184, tort, libel, slander and perjury, and the parties to a civil action.
- Locating, research and surveillanceSetting a justifiable mandate, basic locator techniques, public records and research sources such as PPSR searches, the purposes of covert surveillance, what to know before you start, standard equipment, detection, and solo versus team surveillance methods.
- Interviews, statements and reportsPreparing for and conducting interviews, taking and correcting a witness statement, confessions and youth interviews, writing objective surveillance reports, correcting notes and using notes when you testify.
- Undercover work, email monitoring and serving documentsWhen undercover operations are used, briefing and supervising an operator, conduct that protects credibility in court, monitoring employee email, and serving civil documents under Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, including personal service, substituted service and the Affidavit of Service.
- Ethics, communication and self-managementEthical decision-making, duty of care, prejudice and the Ontario Human Rights Code, clear and unbiased communication, tactical communication, and managing stress, time, teamwork and changing conditions on assignments.