Originally posted by Lowell Goudge I think you need, and we all need to consider that the laws are different everywhere.
Of course, but the basic principles are in force in a surprising number of places. Ireland, for example, is very similar to the UK. Canada is very similar to the USA. Quebec is a bit of a special case. Individuals may have more control over their image in Quebec, even for non-commercial purposes.
Originally posted by Lowell Goudge I suspect your basis is the british isles, and while canadian law is based upon british law, public is interpreted as open access to the public, and signs must be posted if photography is not allowed.
Sorry Lowell, this is
not true. Where are you getting this info from?
Even if there are no posted signs, a rent-a-cop can approach you and ask you a) to not take photos or b) to leave the property. There is nothing you can do but obey unless you wish to be charged with trespassing. They can even allow some people to photograph and not others, simply because they don't like the colour of your skin. Even though they are not police and barely trained.
And to think we don't live in a police state.
Originally posted by Lowell Goudge also re kids, that may be the law, but if you are caught near a school, you better be prepared for being considered as some form of criminal.
I did say that "awareness of today's paranoid environment should be applied to the situation." However I emphasise that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees your right to take photographs of anything you want, unless other laws over-ride it in specific cases. Taking photos of children on school property is an issue since it is private property. But on the public sidewalks there is no law to forbid it.
Also according to the Charter, everyone has a "reasonable expectation of privacy". So you cannot go snooping around people's houses or using long telephotos to get shots through their bedroom window... even if you did so from public property.
Also, I wouldn't take photos of any military installation or property unless it was specifically on exhibition to the public.
Originally posted by Lowell Goudge Like it or not, you will be investigated.
Personally I am not big into street photography. But if I was criminally investigated for doing something non-criminal, with no evidence to support their case, I would sue for defamation. We do not have to submit to the tyranny of the state.