One reason it has taken so long to put legislation on the ground in Ontario is because the government has taken the time to get input from industry. Before the first draft of the new legislation was prepared, industry representatives were invited to comment on the discussion paper. Before the PSISA Act passed third reading at Queen’s Park, the Standing Committee on Justice Policy heard two full days of public testimony. Before regulations were drafted, Ministry staff held a year-an-a-half of meetings and discussions with the Private Security and Investigative Services Advisory Committee (PSISAC). Before regulations were published, draft regulations were posted on the Ministry website for public comment. Any industry representative in Ontario who is now claiming to have had the PSISA sprung on him with no notice and no opportunity for input has just not been paying attention.

However, there is a big difference between being given the chance to speak and being heard. Many industry leaders and others have made submissions to the government all the way along. Has it made a difference? Have there been changes in direction as a result of industry input?

The answer in Ontario is yes, and there are two very specific examples.

In March of this year the Ministry posted a draft regulation on use of vehicles. The draft prohibited the use of flashing lights of any sort on security vehicles of any kind. Thirty written submissions were sent to the Ministry. Twenty-nine of them complained about this provision. When the final version of the regulation was posted on E-laws in July, the offending provision had been removed.

In May of this year it became clear that the Ministry intended to go ahead with the licensing of proprietary security personnel as early as this fall even though the basic level mandatory training requirements for individual licensees wouldn’t be in place until sometime next year. The Ministry subsequently decided to put off implementation of the requirement for the licensing of proprietary personnel until next summer. At a series of information meetings held with industry representatives around the Province in August, Jon Herberman indicated that the Ministry’s decision not to require the licensing of proprietary personnel until mandatory training is in place was based on the submissions made by various industry representatives who objected to the idea of licensing without training.

Ontario’s new Act and new regulations are now in place. But the new legislation is still being drafted in Alberta and Nova Scotia, and the regulations are being worked on in British Columbia and Quebec. If you work in one or more of these four provinces there is a lesson to be learned from the Ontario experience. Don’t miss the opportunity to tell government what you think about what they are planning for you and your industry.

Brian Robertson is president of Diligent Security Training and Consulting based in Toronto, Ont.