Other Relevant Legislation

Other Relevant Legislation

Quick Answer: ABST Module 2 also touches the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act (intoxicated persons on licensed premises), the Employment Standards Code (pay, hours, overtime for security workers), and the federal/provincial jurisdiction split that shapes which law applies. Above all: a security guard is not a peace officer and has only citizen powers plus property-agent authority.

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act

Security guards working at bars, casinos, restaurants, liquor stores, and licensed events routinely deal with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act (AGLC Act) and its regulations. Key points for ABST:

• Licensed premises must be controlled by the licensee; security is often the licensee's tool for that control.
• A licensee or their employee/agent may ask an intoxicated person to leave licensed premises.
• A person who is intoxicated on licensed premises and causing a disturbance may be removed using reasonable force by staff/agents.
• Service to an intoxicated person is itself an offence by the licensee — guards support the licensee's legal duty not to over-serve.
• Minors on licensed premises are a separate compliance concern; guards may check ID at the door as the licensee's agent.

The Act does not give guards arrest powers beyond s. 494. Removing an intoxicated patron is a Trespass to Premises Act / licensee authority action, not a criminal arrest, unless the patron commits a criminal offence (e.g., assault).

Employment Standards Code — Appendix Material

Security workers in Alberta are covered by the Employment Standards Code for core workplace entitlements:

• Pay periods and payment of wages — an employer must set a pay period and pay earnings within 10 consecutive days after the end of it.
• Hours of work — including at least one 30-minute break for a shift longer than 5 hours (two such breaks once the shift exceeds 10 hours), and at least one day of rest each work week (or the equivalent grouped rest days).
• Overtime — the 8/44 rule: overtime is all hours worked beyond 8 in a day or 44 in a week, whichever produces the greater number of overtime hours, paid at at least 1.5× the regular wage rate. Under a written overtime agreement, banked time off may be given instead, at a minimum of 1 hour off per overtime hour worked.
• General holiday pay and vacation pay — vacation entitlement begins at 2 weeks after 1 year of employment and rises to 3 weeks after 5 years.
• Termination notice rules.

This material is tested at the recall level: know which entitlements exist, that Alberta Employment Standards administers them, and that a security employer cannot contract out of the minimum standards. Appendix A of the ABST participant manual reproduces the relevant Code divisions — paying earnings, hours of work, overtime, general holidays, and vacations.

Federal vs. Provincial Jurisdiction

Canada divides legislative authority between Parliament (federal) and the provinces under the Constitution Act, 1867. For security work:

A guard's arrest authority comes from federal law (Criminal Code s. 494), while the guard's property authority and licence come from provincial law. Knowing which level of government made the law helps you understand which statute applies and who enforces it.

The Golden Rule: Not a Peace Officer

Everything in Module 2 reduces to one framing:

• A security guard is not a peace officer.
• A guard has citizen powers (s. 494, s. 27) plus property-agent authority (Trespass to Premises Act, Petty Trespass Act, AGLC Act as the licensee's agent).
• A guard cannot detain on suspicion, search incident to arrest, or use force as punishment.
• A guard must deliver arrested persons to a peace officer forthwith.
• A guard's force must always be minimum necessary and proportionate.

This framing is the single most common exam trap. Questions will offer options that assume police powers (e.g., "detain for questioning", "search the suspect", "arrest on reasonable suspicion"). The correct answer almost always points back to the citizen-power and property-agent baseline.

Other Statutes You May Encounter

• Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) — federal; possession and trafficking. Guards do not enforce drug law; they observe, preserve evidence, and call police.
• Alberta Mental Health Act — a peace officer may apprehend a person with a mental disorder who is a danger. Guards assist by calling police; they do not apprehend.
• Provincial Offences Procedure Act — how provincial offences (e.g., petty trespass) are ticketed and prosecuted.
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — applies to state action; private security is generally not a state actor, but courts look at the substance of security-police cooperation.

Module 2 Wrap-Up

Powers and authority in ABST Module 2 rest on three pillars: (1) the citizen's arrest power in Criminal Code s. 494 with its strict "finds committing" and forthwith rules; (2) the use-of-force framework in ss. 25, 26, 27, anchored on minimum necessary force; and (3) property-agent authority under Alberta's trespass and liquor statutes. Master the boundaries of these powers and you have the heaviest-tested material in the exam.