The Trespass to Property Act of Ontario is a provincial law in Ontario, Canada dealing with illegal entry into private and public property. As a provincial law, the penalties and mechanisms of enforcement are also provincial. This is an important distinction; under the Canadian system, criminal law is within the realm of federal authority and anyone violating this statute would be subject to quasi-criminal (not full criminal) enforcement. The Act is an attempt to codify what was formerly recognized by the common law. It is most often used by private-property owners to keep unwanted individuals off their property. There are many methods of notifying unwanted individuals that they have been banned (for future access), but the most common is a personal notice to the offender.
Famous quotes containing the words trespass, property and/or act:
“No more be grieved at that which thou hast done,
Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud,
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.
All men make faults, and even I in this,
Authorizing thy trespass with compare,
My self corrupting salving thy amiss,
Excusing thy sins more than thy sins are:”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Abscond. To “move” in a mysterious way, commonly with the property of another.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
“Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of such a part as it may please the master to assign you, for a long time or for a little as he may choose. And if he will you to take the part of a poor man, or a cripple, or a ruler, or a private citizen, then may you act that part with grace! For to act well the part that is allotted to us, that indeed is ours to do, but to choose it is another’s.”
—Epictetus (c. 55–135 B.C.)