Law Times

www.lawtimesnews.com Law Times / January 28, 2008 Page 11 T he Access to Justice Act, which was passed in late 2006, brought significant changes to Ontario's paralegal profession, in terms of licensing requirements, examinations, and training. But paralegals aren't the only ones to have experienced some adjustment over the last couple of years. The Private Security and Investigative Services Act, which took effect last August and replaces the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act, will affect several aspects of the prov- ince's private investigation and security industries. While the act is relatively new, and sections of it will be phased in, it is set to bring about several changes to the private investiga- tion industry over the next year. As of later this year, all private investigators, even those who weren't previously required to obtain a licence, will have to do so. Formerly, those private investigators who did require licenses — which are issued by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services — had to obtain them through their employers after being hired. Under the new act, individu- als will now be responsible for their own licences, with employ- ers no longer acting as sponsors. In-house investigators and secu- rity staff, previously exempt from licensing, are also now subject to the licensing requirement. Norman Groot, a lawyer with the Investigation Counsel Professional Corp., says that one of the main changes with the act is that investigators can now work for multiple agencies and are not tied to one employer. As a result, private investiga- tion companies either have to enter into exclusive agreements with their employees or allow them to freelance with a number of firms. "There's been portable licens- ing in Quebec for a number of years, and the problem that they experienced there is that peo- ple who are licensed as private investigators but not as agencies are selling investigative services. So people who retain investiga- tors should be aware that they should be retaining an agency and not a private investigator personally," says Groot. David Black, president of the Council of Private Investigators -- Ontario, and Vice President of King-Reed Corporate Risk Solutions, says that licence-portability techni- cally allows an investigator to work for Company A one day and Company B the following day, if there is no work at the first company, for example. But he doesn't think many of the owners of the larger agencies are going to allow that to happen. While the new legislation does not apply to "barristers and solici- tors engaged in the practice of their profession," it will affect law- yers who have in-house investiga- tors. Any investigators working on staff will now require licens- ing, and the firm will have to register as a business entity with the registrar for private investiga- tors, says Groot. Businesses that directly employ private investiga- tors or security guards have until Aug. 23 to register. "If they want to rely on the investigative-body status in [the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act], the investigator has to be licensed, of course, has to be a licensed investigation agency, and also has to be a member of a trade associa- tion such as the Council of Private Investigators," adds Groot. The new act responds to a coroner's inquest into the death of Patrick Shand, of Toronto, who died in 1999 after an alter- cation with employees of a gro- cery store and security guards. The coroner's jury in the case made 22 recommenda- tions, including a suggestion that the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act be amended as soon as possible, as well as the inclusion of a man- datory training program, com- pliance and licence classification for security personnel. For the first time, there is now a code of conduct in place for private investigators, security guards, and licensed businesses. The code provides a means for the public to file complaints with the registrar, who will investi- gate complaints that have merit and are made in good faith. The new training requirement for all private investigators and security staff is set to take effect this November. The requirements are currently under development by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. "Licensing applicants, after November 2008, will . . . have to go through a mandated training program and they have to write a licensing test, which will deal with issues like the requirements under the new act . . . criminal liability, civil liability, privacy issues," says Groot. Those in the industry have mixed emotions about some of the new provisions, says Black. "We see some good points and then some bad ones; it really has focused on the guard indus- try more than it has on the investigators," he says. One problem, he says, is the uncertainty around the require- ments for testing, as exams haven't been formulated and it hasn't been decided who is going to be doing the testing. As a result, the industry is in a holding pattern. When the legislation was passed, the government noted that basic training standards will be developed for licensees. Areas of emphasis will include knowl- edge of relevant legislation — the new Private Security and Investigative Services Act and the Trespass to Property Act, to name two examples — com- munications and public relations skills, and on-the-job skills such as report-writing, note-taking, diversity-sensitivity, and the use of equipment. Investigators and security guards who already hold licences will now also have to complete a standardized test in order to renew their licences. New legislation means licences for all Changes to private investigation industry FOCUS Those in the private investiga- tion and security industries have mixed emotions about some of the new provisions, says David Black. BY HELEN BURNETT Law Times LT *Pages 1-16.indd 11 1/24/08 6:10:34 PM

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