Security Guard and Bouncer Licensing
See what ORHMA has to say...

ORHMA participated in consideration of the Private Security and Investigative Services Act when it was introduced in 2004/5 and appointed by government to sit on the Advisory Committee. The ORHMA consistently raised concerns with the requirements placed on hotels, restaurants and bar security employees including the bouncer position.

In 2007 the government rolled out a series of regulations that required all security personnel, including bouncers, to become licensed but failed at that time to introduce the long-expected requirements for training and testing.  ORHMA criticized the government for moving ahead in the absence of these requirements because it misled the public about increased security and was nothing more than a cash grab.

A new regulation containing information pertaining to the training and testing requirements for security guards and bouncers was released.  The regulation requires that as of July 16, 2010 all persons seeking to become a security guard or bouncer must successfully complete a training and testing component in order to receive a licence.  Licensed individuals would have to complete the test (not the training) in order to renew the first time.  The test only has to be successfully completed at the time of the very first renewal.

We recognize this is onerous, and will prove costly as employers negotiate with employees about who pays for the training and testing.  We have raise all of these concerns with government over the years.  It's fair to say the only folks in the province who are pleased with this legislation are the police and the providers of training and testing. On that note, please be advised that only training and testing providers approved by the ministry can offer training and testing that will be recognized for the purposes of licensing.

Issues: Under the PSISA, implemented in April 2007, all security staff employed in the Hospitality industry are required to be licensed. This presents a significant cost factor as the employer must be registered with the government, the employee must take training and become licensed. The matter of licensing raises other labour issues as the training and licensing costs are being negotiated between employers and employees, most often at the employers’ expense, and also having staff licensed (with transferrable licenses) means employees will be able to demand a higher hourly rate.

Operators have also raised concerns that AGCO inspectors are incognito when in the premises while licensee bouncers and security personnel must be in uniform positioning them at a disadvantage. Incognito inspectors are more likely to witness certain behaviours as patrons participating in improper or illegal activity will cease “doing it” in view of uniform security personnel.