Telewarrants Available Under the POA

Effective June 30, 2008 the provisions of the Government Efficiency Act, 2002 (as amended in 2006) allowing for telewarrants under the Provincial Offences Act come into force.

The effect of these amendments will be to:

1. Allow a search warrant under the POA to be issued by fax; and

2. All an officer to make a return on a search warrant by filing a report with a justice rather than having to bring the actual items seized before the justice.

These amendments basically allow telewarrants as available under the Criminal Code to be available under the POA. The language under the POA closely tracks the Criminal Code language.

This long delayed legislation is helpful in bringing the POA into line with the Criminal Code and modern (well, 1990's)technology (perhaps both the Code and the POA can move on to encrypted e-mail rather than fax?).

The telewarrant centre for Ontario is located at Newmarket.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4