are lockpicks illegal in toronto ontario

[inkbot2000]

I want to learn to pick a lock and I don't know the laws I found a website called the toronto spy store that sells lock picks but I also found things that say it is illlegal which is it legal or illegal

[Jaakko]

The law says to use punctuation.

[freakparade3]

Jakko could you possible have been less helpful? This link may help. viewtopic.php?t=37106

[inkbot2000]

that is for bc i live in ontario does anyone know the laws there

[freakparade3]

I believe BC is the only place you have any worries.

[TANGO]

that is for bc i live in ontario does anyone know the laws there

If you search this site you will notice it has been covered many times.

http://www.canlii.org/en/

[globallockytoo]

If pick were illegal in Toronto, there would be no locksmiths.

Perhaps you need to determine if you have to be licensed to be able to purchase picks.

Similarly, in the USA it is a federal offence to send pick tools through USPS. You can purchase them but must use a third party carrier to deliver them to you.

That the USPS is so slack and doesnt check all their packages, means a lot of stuff gets through that probably shouldnt.

[mongo]

I live farther north than TO. As a licensed mechanic I had zero problem getting my auto picks. I use Snap-On and MAC solely for shop tools. They will not sell picks to anyone who doesnt have a ticket.
From reading all I could at lp1010 and the boys in blue who come thru my businesses, if you got picks and you have a used stereo sitting there, you had better have a good story. Most cops won't even listen to whatever you bla bla bla. You go straight to cells and once you finally made a call to duty councel the game begins.
In most of my trades that I perform I have the tools ready to open anything. I also have a gun or three around. If I was walking around waving the gun or visible I would be arrested. The gun like the picks will impact whatever the cops may think at the scene (after your arrested).
If your caught with picks and a crime has been committed it wont matter that the local constabulary has given you a golden ticket, your now in the line up of usual suspects.
"NOT A LAWER" but I stayed at a Holiday Inn. So from what I have read in Ontaio, Locksmiths, Licensed AST Mechanics and some cloak and dagger clowns are not required a speacial ticket, they are covered under trade license or business license. I am still researching this.
But, and again, Knowledge is power, and power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[MacGyver101]

The Criminal Code differentiates between general-purpose lockpicking tools, and those that are specifically designed for cars.

As a non-licensed hobbyist, you cannot legally acquire tools that are designed specifically for automotive opening (Criminal Code, Section 353). Aside from that, the Federal laws leave it up to the individual Provinces to establish licensing -- and Ontario has not elected to establish licensing requirements for general-purpose lockpicks. (It's my understanding, from reading various reports here, that BC and Alberta do require a license.)

Some resellers may have their own rules about who they will/won't sell to, but owning a basic pickset in Toronto (or anywhere else in Ontario) is fine, so long as you're not carrying it in circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to think that you're about to commit a crime.

I'm not a lawyer, so please double-check this yourself: the Criminal Code statutes are available on-line, and a search of this site should point you at a half-dozen other threads where people have discussed the legal restrictions in Canada.

[chickwithpicks]

In British Columbia (BC), possession of picks is legal (as long as your intent is pure).

Val Polyakh sorted it out with a law enforcement gent in Victoria, and I confirmed with him and gained his permission to repost the info to my blog.

Here's the link to my post, which includes a link back to the original post on these forums: http://chickwithpicks.blogspot.ca/2012/ ... itish.html