24. (1) A person shall not exercise a power of entry conferred by this Act to enter a place that is being used as a dwelling without the consent of the occupier except under the authority of a warrant issued under this section.

Warrant for search

• Where a justice of the peace is satisfied on evidence upon oath that there are in a place documents or things that there is reasonable ground to believe will afford evidence relevant to the carrying out of a review officer’s duties under this Act, the justice of the peace may issue a warrant in the prescribed form authorizing the review officer named in the warrant to search the place for any such documents or things and to remove them for the purposes of making copies or extracts and they shall be returned promptly to the place from which they were removed.

Warrant for entry

• Where a justice of the peace is satisfied on evidence upon oath that there is reasonable ground to believe it is necessary that a place being used as a dwelling or to which entry has been denied be entered so that a review officer may carry out his or her

duties under this Act, the justice of the peace may issue a warrant in the prescribed form authorizing such entry by the review officer named in the warrant.

Execution and expiry of warrant

• A warrant issued under this section,
  • shall specify the hours and days during which it may be executed; and
  • shall name a date on which it expires, which date shall not be later than fifteen days after its issue.

Obstruction

• No person shall hinder, obstruct or interfere with a review officer in the execution of a warrant or otherwise impede a review officer in carrying out his or her duties under this Act.

Idem

• Subsection (5) is not contravened where a person refuses to produce documents or things, unless a warrant has been issued under subsection (2).

Admissibility of copies

• Copies of, or extracts from, documents and things removed from premises under this Act and certified as being true copies of, or extracts from, the originals by the person who made them are admissible in evidence to the same extent as, and have the same evidentiary value as, the documents or things of which they are copies or extracts. R.S.O. 1990, c. P.7, s. 35.