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This is an important follow-up notice to our members about foreign agencies hiring private investigators.

Please see the article below for the American perspective:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/13/nyregion/china-iran-private-detectives.html

If the above link doesn't work, then please view the article below:

Iran and China are hiring private eyes to spy on dissidents in America | Daily Mail Online

Please see important information attached.

 Need To Know_2022 04 07.pdf

The CPIO has been made aware that there have been reports of individuals using counterfeit licenses to apply to licensed agencies in Ontario. As per section 31 of the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005, licensed agencies may only employ licensed security guards (SG) and/or private investigators (PI) and it is the agency’s responsibility to ensure that none of their SGs and/or PIs are working without a valid license.

You are encouraged to use the online license registry to confirm the status of the individual licensee or contact PrivateSecurity@ontario.ca. 

December 1, 2021

Dear CPIO Members,

There is no better way to start this letter than to state that it has been an honour, and my privilege, to work with such a group of consummate professionals as the current CPIO Board of Directors. Volunteers, who over the last year, have given so much of their time and knowledge to benefit the CPIO and our industry. Thank you, Boaz Lapointe, Brian Zeng, Shelley Collins, Manish Patel, James Winter, Vanessa Greenblatt, Nino Calabrese and Martin Jaekel for your hard work, dedication, and continuing support. I would like to introduce and welcome Michael Sherrard of Sherrard Kuzz LLP to the Board, as CPIO Counsel. Michael joined us earlier in the year and has proven himself to be an invaluable asset. I would like to make special mention of the significant contributions made by Junior Williams, who stepped down from the Board earlier this year. Lastly, I welcome Nigel McCoy to the Board, our newly elected Board Member. 

Last year, I said that the CPIO was taking the initiative to try and raise the general level of knowledge and the standard of professionalism in our industry. We at the CPIO felt that this was not only important but imperative. As I also mentioned in my address a year ago, Private Investigation Agencies, previously known as Private Inquiry Agents, pre-date what we now recognize as organized, investigative police services.  Despite this, it appears there has never been a recognised standard of training or recognition of expertise, exclusively applied to our industry. The CPIO is changing that.

The CPIO has been offering educational webinars since May 2020.  During 2021, we introduced world class courses and designed a three-tier designation program, the post nominals of which are trademark protected. Over the course of the next twelve months, we will be introducing courses in Note Taking & Report Writing, Ethics & Legislation, Interviewing and many more. The purpose of the courses is to introduce a standard of training to our industry. New and seasoned investigators will receive recognized, relevant training, and only those who achieve 80% or more on their tests will attain CPIO Certification. Employers will know that a prospective employee with CPIO Certification has demonstrated a high level of understanding and the ability to apply the training they have received.          

The designations are designed to promote excellence in our industry. Investigators can now aspire to an organized program of professional recognition based on knowledge and experience. From this point on, when a person claims to be a Senior Investigator, for instance, they will be able to proudly present their CPIO Designation to support their claim.

Some of you will have seen representatives of the CPIO at events such as an OIAA Golf Day, this year. Attending events is part of a program to expand CPIO’s visibility within the insurance and legal industries. In 2022, we will begin an advertising campaign through media sources to promote the training and Continued Professional Education (CPE) offered by the CPIO. We will also be encouraging the insurance and legal professions to take note of the CPIO Designations and understand what they mean. It is our hope and expectation that CPIO Members will benefit from these initiatives and those with CPIO Designations will be recognized for their achievements and awarded work accordingly.

Until the end of December 2021, any private investigator who meets the minimum criteria described in the Designation Protocols (available on the CPIO website) could be entitled to claim a designation though the Grandfathering clause.  I would strongly encourage any of you with the relevant experience to apply today by sending a resumé of your experience to info@cpiontario.ca with “Designation Application” in the subject line. I also advise employers to urge their employees to join the CPIO, so they too may benefit from the Designation program.

It only remains for me to say that you can be assured that your CPIO Board of Directors will continue to strive to bring new initiatives and value to the CPIO and our industry in general. 

On behalf of your CPIO Board, I wish you and your families a safe and festive holiday season!

Yours faithfully,

James Meadway

President

Council of Professional Investigators of Ontario.

CALL FOR BOARD DIRECTORS

The CPIO is holding its AGM on November 18, 2021. We are seeking candidates who are interested in being involved with a very active Board, particularly anyone with knowledge of  IT. You must be a current CPIO member in good standing and you will need three nominators (CPIO members in good standing).  Those who are interested, please reach out via email to mjaekel@cpioontario.ca, or by calling 877-313-7283.  The deadline for applicants is October 20, 2021.

Dear CPIO members:

It has come to the attention of the CPIO that there have been recent attempts by foreign secret service agencies to retain Canadian Private Investigation firms to conduct surveillance operations and/or investigations on people who have been deemed dissident nationals residing in Canada. Canada is not shielded when it comes to foreign interference and there are many creative ways that these foreign agencies are advancing their interests without our knowledge and sometimes at our own expense. We would like to take this opportunity to emphasize to our membership that it is highly recommended that you complete your due diligence and know who you are entering into an arrangement with when taking on new clients or new files from potential clients outside of our country or jurisdiction. We would like to reference the CPIO Code of Ethics located on our website as guidance for what is acceptable practice for our members. Should you receive any requests from foreign entities or even domestic that give you cause for concern, please contact your local authorities. The CPIO is here for our membership and is committed to bringing awareness and education to our industry, and industry professionals, as our profession impacts all of Canada in one way or another. 

The following are the types of red flags to look out for when accepting work from a client, new or existing:

• New client who was referred to you by someone unfamiliar
• New clients who are vague on details as to why they need to retain you
• New clients, or even existing clients, who are obviously intermediaries with limited knowledge of the assignment in question
• New clients who prefer to pay in cash
• New clients who want a “rush” job
• A request that involves a political involvement or component
• New clients who are outside of North America
• Any request that does not sound reasonable

This list is not exhaustive, and these red flags do not necessary suggest any ill intent.  They may suggest further due diligence should be undertaken to ensure you are not aiding foreign entities in obtaining information that they should not have access to.

Kind regards,

CPIO Board of Directors

The Private Security and Investigative Services Branch (PSISB) is responsible for licensing security guards, private investigators and business entities that sell or retain security guard and/or private investigator services in Ontario.

Click here for Memo on preparing for a compliance inspection 

May 9, 2021

Dear Members,

I trust this letter finds you and yours in good health and looking forward to the warmer weather to come.  I would like to encourage you to take a minute or two to read about what the current CPIO board is doing for you.

The first six months of the current board has been remarkably busy.  We started by continuing with our program of free educational webinars, we enjoyed an extraordinarily successful F.I.T. conference, and we are about to launch our first CPIO Course, in partnership with Toddington International.  This will be followed up by a series of self-study courses and addition virtual in-person style (synchronous) training courses in the summer and autumn.  We are also initiating designations for Private Investigators in Ontario and are negotiating a Group Benefit Insurance plan for member agencies.

The courses the CPIO will be offering are the best suited to our industry that we could find in any specific field.  Each course will be accompanied by an exam which must be passed in order to receive a CPIO-issued Certificate of Achievement.  The bearer of CPIO-issued certification will have proved that they not only attended a course, but that they understood what they were taught and are able to apply the training.  The certificates will have real meaning.  This is important, not only to the investigator that took the course, but to employers who are looking for a professional with real qualifications.  

So, if you have not already signed up for our Advanced Internet Intelligence & Online Investigations Training, do so now! Space is limited and there are only a few positions left.  

Within the next few months, we hope to be able to offer courses in Note Taking & Report Writing and Ethics.  These courses will be offered at a minimal cost in the hope that many investigators will take the opportunity to benefit from them.  They will also come with CPIO certification.

We are working on a designation system for the Private Investigators in Ontario that we hope to roll out in late summer.  Each CPIO-issued Certificate of Achievement earn from taking and passing our courses will be a step closer to earning the designations we are developing.  We will provide additional details later in the year.

Covid-19 has been devastating to our industry and many of us have seen a dramatic cut in the work we are used to.  Now is the time to regroup, improve our skill set and be ready to face the work to come confident in our ability to tackle any assignment with a higher level of professionalism than ever before.  And yes, the work will come!

Efforts have been made in the past with regards to affordable Group Benefit Plans.  We believe that we are negotiating a basic plan that will be affordable for everyone.  Again, we will keep you posted.

I end this letter by sincerely thanking my colleagues on the CPIO Board for all their hard work and dedication.   Without the team effort, none of this would be possible.

Thank you for your continued support and stay safe everyone!

Yours respectfully,

James Meadway

President, CPIO

The Ministry of the Solicitor General has just announced that there will be an increase in the term length of licenses from two to three years for agencies under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005.  For further details, please refer to:

Memo to Licensed Agencies-Term Extensions.pdf