Editing Lock picking (section)

=== Canada ===
In B.C. and Ontario Canada, a license is required to carry out locksmithing professionally.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 2, 2015|title=Things to know about locksmiths|url=https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/2015/06/things-to-know-about-locksmiths/|access-date=December 4, 2021|website=Consumer Protection BC|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Locksmiths Licensing Act, 1996|url=https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-36/session-1/bill-40|access-date=December 4, 2021|website=Legislative Assembly of Ontario|language=en}}</ref> It is legal for hobbyists who are not locksmiths to pick locks that they own.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

Under Section 351 of the Canadian Criminal Code, lock pick tools fit in the same category as crowbars or hammers, meaning they are legal to possess and use unless they are used to commit a crime or if it is shown there was the intention to commit a crime.  

The relevant section states: "Every person who, without lawful excuse, has in their possession any instrument suitable for breaking into any place, motor vehicle, vault or safe knowing that the instrument has been used or is intended to be used for that purpose,

(a) is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or

(b) is guilty of an offense punishable on summary conviction."<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-78.html#h-122049 Canada Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46): Offences Against Rights of Property]</ref>

Some provinces require a license to carry lock picks.<ref>[http://www.lockpickcanada.com/help_answer.asp?ID=9#32 Lockpick Canada: Help]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328024109/http://www.lockpickcanada.com/help_answer.asp?ID=9 |date=March 28, 2012}}</ref> Unlike most laws in Canada, the onus is on the defendant to prove that they have a legal purpose to use the lock picks. Similar to some drug trafficking offenses, this may be automatically applied if possession is discovered, though corroborating evidence is needed to support these charges.<ref name="laws.justice.gc.ca">{{cite web|url=http://laws-Lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-77.html#s-351ss-(1)ID0EDDA |title=Criminal Code |publisher=Laws-lois.justice.gc.ca |access-date=April 13, 2016}}</ref> Hobbyist use and indications thereof should constitute reasonable doubt, though the defendant must prove legal purposes, the crown must still indicate the charges are reasonable given the circumstances. For example, the discovery of lock picks in a dwelling house in absence of other indications of burglary are not grounds for this charge.<ref name=" Lock King">{{cite web |title=Can You Buy Lock Picks in Canada? Yes AND No |url=http://lockking.ca/can-i-buy-lock-picks-in-canada |website=Lock King |access-date=January 12, 2019 |language=en-CA |date=January 18, 2016}}</ref> It is not uncommon for [[hackathon]] events in Canada to have lock picking challenges, and this would constitute a reasonable and legal reason for possession.