Welcome to JFCY’s Legal Wiki which provides information about the legal rights of children and youth in Ontario. Click here to download this information from our Publications page. Please contact us if you have any questions or trouble finding the information that you seek. You should speak to a lawyer for legal advice since laws often change.
There are two main offences under the Safe Streets Act: solicitation in an “aggressive manner” and solicitation of a “captive audience”. Soliciting means to request money or anything else of value from someone, whether or not you provide any services in return. You can request by asking, putting up a sign, making a gesture — anything, and it can be considered soliciting.
Panhandling and squeegeeing are examples of solicitation.
In general, passive panhandling is not illegal. Examples of this include holding out your hand or requesting spare change. Aggressive panhandling, however, is illegal. Soliciting in an aggressive manner includes anything that is “likely to cause a person to be concerned for his or her safety or security”.
Examples of behaviours that are considered aggressive include:
These types of behaviour are prohibited not only during any solicitation but also after the person solicited responds or fails to respond. Soliciting while intoxicated by alcohol could also result in a ticket under the Liquor Licence Act for being intoxicated in a public place. It is a defence to these offences to show the court that the person was not actually being aggressive.
It is also illegal to solicit “a captive audience”, that is, people who are preoccupied. It doesn’t matter whether the soliciting is done in an aggressive manner. This ban on “soliciting a captive audience” makes it illegal to solicit a person that is:
The last example makes it illegal for a person to squeegee. There is a complete ban on squeegeeing on a public roadway under the Highway Traffic Act.
You can only be arrested under the Safe Streets Act if the police reasonably believe that you have cntravened the SSA and,
(a) the police officer warned them prior to the incident not to engage in that activity or
(b) the officer reasonably thinks that the arrest is necessary to establish their identity or to prevent more violations of the SSA.
If you are being arrested, you should immediately ask to speak to a lawyer or duty counsel. You should not make any statement before you have had the opportunity to speak with a lawyer.
Tickets for SSA violations usually attract a penalty of about $65. These tickets can be taken to the Court Services Office at the address on the back of the ticket if you want to fight the ticket or have the fine reduced. For more information, see the wiki section on Tickets.
If you have been ticketed before, then the police may instead give you a summons to appear in court on a specific day. If you do not go to court, a warrant could be issued for your arrest to bring you to court.
The police can take your possessions as evidence if you are suspected of using them to commit a crime. For example, the police may take your squeegee if they believe it is stolen or has been used as a weapon.
Officers should not take your property just because you have used it to squeegee for money. If taken from you, your possessions must generally be returned to you within three months unless a justice of the peace orders that they be kept for a longer period. You should write down the badge number of the officer who takes your stuff, so that it will be easier to get your things back.
You will probably have to ask for your possessions back because the police may not do it automatically. Contact your local police service’s property division. In Toronto, contact Toronto Police Service – Property and Evidence Management, 416-808-3750.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) provides unique rights and procedures for young people between the ages of 12 - 17 who are charged with a criminal offence in Canada.
Going to school is a legal requirement for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. The Education Act gives parents and children specific rights in the publicly funded school system.
In Ontario, you can choose where you live when you are 16 years old. The decision to leave is often not easy and can lead to difficulties in getting all your belongings, having enough money to support yourself and attending school.
Become informed about your legal rights when it comes to decisions about your healthcare and mental healthcare treatment. This includes any procedure carried out or prescribed by a health practitioner to diagnose or treat a physical or mental health condition.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination on many grounds and in many social areas. Specific legal concerns raised by youth identifying in LGBTQI2S communities are about GSAs, Trans and Gender Inclusive Spaces and changing their ID.
You can be given a ticket for breaking a provincial law if you are over the age of 16. Some of the common laws that young people are given tickets for is covered in this section.
There are two main offences under the Safe Streets Act: solicitation in an “aggressive manner” and solicitation of a “captive audience”. Soliciting means to request money or anything else of value from someone, whether or not you provide any services in return. You can request by asking, putting up a sign, making a gesture — anything, and it can be considered soliciting.
Panhandling and squeegeeing are examples of solicitation.
In general, passive panhandling is not illegal. Examples of this include holding out your hand or requesting spare change. Aggressive panhandling, however, is illegal. Soliciting in an aggressive manner includes anything that is “likely to cause a person to be concerned for his or her safety or security”.
Examples of behaviours that are considered aggressive include:
These types of behaviour are prohibited not only during any solicitation but also after the person solicited responds or fails to respond. Soliciting while intoxicated by alcohol could also result in a ticket under the Liquor Licence Act for being intoxicated in a public place. It is a defence to these offences to show the court that the person was not actually being aggressive.
It is also illegal to solicit “a captive audience”, that is, people who are preoccupied. It doesn’t matter whether the soliciting is done in an aggressive manner. This ban on “soliciting a captive audience” makes it illegal to solicit a person that is:
The last example makes it illegal for a person to squeegee. There is a complete ban on squeegeeing on a public roadway under the Highway Traffic Act.
You can only be arrested under the Safe Streets Act if the police reasonably believe that you have cntravened the SSA and,
(a) the police officer warned them prior to the incident not to engage in that activity or
(b) the officer reasonably thinks that the arrest is necessary to establish their identity or to prevent more violations of the SSA.
If you are being arrested, you should immediately ask to speak to a lawyer or duty counsel. You should not make any statement before you have had the opportunity to speak with a lawyer.
Tickets for SSA violations usually attract a penalty of about $65. These tickets can be taken to the Court Services Office at the address on the back of the ticket if you want to fight the ticket or have the fine reduced. For more information, see the wiki section on Tickets.
If you have been ticketed before, then the police may instead give you a summons to appear in court on a specific day. If you do not go to court, a warrant could be issued for your arrest to bring you to court.
The police can take your possessions as evidence if you are suspected of using them to commit a crime. For example, the police may take your squeegee if they believe it is stolen or has been used as a weapon.
Officers should not take your property just because you have used it to squeegee for money. If taken from you, your possessions must generally be returned to you within three months unless a justice of the peace orders that they be kept for a longer period. You should write down the badge number of the officer who takes your stuff, so that it will be easier to get your things back.
You will probably have to ask for your possessions back because the police may not do it automatically. Contact your local police service’s property division. In Toronto, contact Toronto Police Service – Property and Evidence Management, 416-808-3750.
Emergency help, criminal court, civil remedy and other supports
In family law, the rights of children are unique. Become informed about going into and being in the care of a Children's Aid Society, when parents can assault you (corporal punishment / spanking exemption to assault), and your right to be heard when your parents are splitting up.
JFCY's Childhood Arrivals and Support & Advocacy Program (CASA) provides services to young people who arrived in Canada as children and are living in Ontario without immigration status.
Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS) is a program that provides information and services for homeless youth between the ages of 16 - 25. These are some of the common issues that the SYLS lawyer is asked about.
