Ontario Animal Welfare Services (AWS) Authority to Charge
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We wanted to make a post to clear up confusion around who has charging authority of the different kind of charges under the PAWS Act.
This has been a foggy area for a while and this is something that we all need to know so expectations of roles & responsibilities are clear.
Note: we were firmly in the “confused” camp as we were hearing different things from different people/authoritative groups.
We have been able to speak with someone who has working knowledge of how AWS investigations operate. We were able to ask very specific questions and have received very clear and thorough responses.
When the OSPCA Act was the animal welfare law here in Ontario, OSPCA Inspectors had FULL police powers. That means a cruelty investigator with the OSPCA could charge someone with CRIMINAL code infractions.
When the Ontario government took over animal welfare responsibilities in January 2020 and the PAWS Act replaced the OSPCA Act the charging authorities changed.
AWS Investigators were deemed “Peace Officers” and DID NOT possess policing powers. That means an AWS Investigator could NOT charge an individual under the Canadian Criminal Code. If warranted, they could charge someone ONLY under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act.
If the offence warranted the upgrade to Criminal Code charges then the AWS Investigator will reach out to the police service responsible for the specific location and hand over their evidence so the police could start their own investigation. The role of AWS at that point is then changed to supportive and evidentiary.
The police will investigate and IF they feel criminal charges are warranted, they will lay the charge and present to the crown for prosecution. The Crown has the final say as to whether charges will proceed through the Court.
If lets say neither the police or the Crown decide to pursue criminal charges, AWS can then reclaim the investigation and pursue charges under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act.
Based on the above, we have some work to do !
It is our opinion that while some police services may be fully versed on and are working within these boundaries MANY police services in Ontario are not. And this also goes for AWS where not all inspectors, supervisors and regional heads are following these guidelines.
That means a grass roots, public campaign of ensuring there is a written policy and that there is communication strategy to ensure it is being followed.
More information to follow……