New Missing Persons act gives Ontario police more power to investigate

New legislation that will make it easier for law enforcement officials to search for missing people will come into effect on July 1, four years after it was first proposed at Queen's Park.

Ontario's Solicitor General Sylvia Jones made the announcement on Tuesday.

Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife fought for the legislation, alongside the parents and family members of missing persons.

Fife's voice broke with emotion as she responded to the announcementin the legislature.

"It's been a long time coming," she said.

No crime, no options

The Missing Persons Act will give police increased resources to investigate missing persons cases, Fife told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

"In the past, if there was no suspected criminal activity, the police were very limited in conducting a missing persons investigation," she told CBC.

If the missing person was an adult, privacy polices at banks, hospitals and other agencies would prevent police or family members from learning if there had beenany interaction withthem unless there was evidence to suggest the person had been involved in a crime.

Act inspired by mother

Fife tabled a motion to create the legislation in 2015, after she was approached by Maureen Trask.

Trask's son Daniel went missing in Temagami, Ont., in 2011. Trask, who lived in Waterloo at the time,says she was shocked by the roadblocks she and investigators faced as they searched for Daniel.

"One of the first things I said was, 'Well could he be in a hospital? Could he have had an accident when he first went missing?' And they said, 'Well you would have to check with local hospitals because we don't have authority,'" Trask told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

When Trask called local hospitals, she was asked if she had power of attorney for her 28-year-old son something she hadn't even considered. Otherwise, she was not allowed to receive any confidential information.

Police were also unable to check for any activity on Daniel's bank accounts.

"Without having that information, it's very difficult to track their movement, including things like [CCTV] video, perhaps at places where they were last known to be," Trask said.

Daniel's body was eventually found by a volunteer search crew in 2015, but Trask continued to advocate for Ontario to adopt missing persons legislation, similar to that in other provinces.

Although the bill was finally given Royal Assent in 2018, Trask says it took over a year before the necessary regulations were finally in place.

She says she's still not ready to celebrate, even after the government's announcement on Tuesday.

"I want to know that it's signed in ink, in force for July 1," Trask said.

CBC Newsreached out but did not receive comment from the Ministry of the Solicitor General.