O.Reg 8/21 – Require to provide Identity only when reasonable grounds exist to believe an offence has been committed
This announcement from the Ministry of the Solicitor General in O.Reg 8/21, allows peace officers or provincial offences officers to require an individual to provide their name, date of birth, and address ONLY when there are reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMPCA) or Health Promotion and Protection Act.
Section 7.0.2 of the EMPCA states that the legislation is subject to the Charter. Therefore any individual exercising their Charter rights cannot be committing an offence. For example, an individual participating in a peaceful protest is not committing an offence and therefore cannot be arrested.
Other provincial legislation such as the Trespass to Property Act and the Highway Traffic Act provide officers the authority to arrest in certain circumstances.
There is still no arrest authority under the EMCPA or the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA) and officers should not be arresting individuals for the Criminal Code offence of Obstructing Justice.
In R vs. Sharma, the Supreme Court of Canada made a ruling relevant to this issue.
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