Civil Liberties and Lawyers’ groups are just now realizing that just last week the Ontario Legislature published regulations designating any area within 5 meters of the Summit security zone as a ‘Public Work’ pursuant to the Public Works Protection Act.
Regulation 233/10, which will not be published in the Ontario Gazette until July though it expires on June 28th, designates the entire area as a ‘public work’ for the period of the summit. This designation permits the province to appoint ‘guards’ who are not police, and to empower both police and other ‘guards’ with shocking search and seizure rights, including:
- Requiring any person to present identification and provide name and address;
- Requiring any person to state their purpose for being within 5 meters of the zone;
- Searching without warrant any person or vehicle entering the area;
- Refusing entry and use force to enforce that refusal;
Arrest any person refusing to comply is guilty of an offence and may be imprisoned for not more than 2 months and fined not more than $500.
Police have also set up a ‘processing zone’ where, according to some reports, persons are being held without charge indefinitely.
Any protesters, organizers, or lawyers are advised that the advice they have received or given in respect of the rights of protesters in or near the security zone may be wrong.
The text of the regulation is only available on-line:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2010/elaws_src_regs_r10233_e.htm
Interested counsel should contact the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
www.ccla.org
