Ontario police chiefs can now request out-of-province backup under defined conditions
GENERAL MATTERS UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IN COUNCIL — under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019
Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice
The regulation now formally defines two terms used elsewhere in policing rules — 'active attacker' and 'extreme incident' — and spells out when and how a police chief may ask for temporary assistance from a police service in another Canadian province or territory. A chief may make that request when they believe their own service lacks sufficient resources for timely, adequate policing, but only after making reasonable efforts to get help from Ontario police services first. The 'Ontario first' requirement is waived entirely when the situation involves an active attacker, an extreme incident, or a declared emergency. Police services, chiefs of police, and their legal and operational teams should review how this fits into their existing mutual aid and contingency planning.
Who this affects: chiefs of police · municipal and regional police services · police service boards · police legal and operational staff
Source of truth: O. Reg. 399/23 on ontario.ca · consolidated version 3 → 0
Legislative text © King's Printer for Ontario. This page is not an official version of the law and is not legal advice. Verify against the official source before acting.
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