After the refusal

By the end of this lesson you can say who may make a guest leave, what force the law allows, and what to do with a refused guest who plans to drive. The refusal ends one problem. The next ten minutes decide whether the night stays safe.

Telling a guest to leave

Section 44 covers unlawfulness. Under s. 44 (1), a licensee that runs a liquor consumption premises, or a permit holder, must make sure a person does not stay on the premises when either reasonably believes the person is:

• unlawfully on the premises
• on the premises for an unlawful purpose
• contravening the law on the premises

That duty sits on the licensee or the permit holder, but the power to act is wider. Section 44 (2) lets the licensee, the permit holder, or an employee require that person to leave immediately. You are named in the section.

Section 45 covers everything else. Under s. 45 (1), a licensee or an employee who has reason to believe a person's presence is undesirable may require them to leave, or forbid them to enter. That bar is lower. No offence is needed.

A person required to leave under either section shall not remain, and shall not re-enter that day (ss. 44 (3), 45 (2)).

What the Act says about force

Only s. 44 mentions force. If the person does not comply, s. 44 (2) lets the licensee, the permit holder, or an employee "remove the person or cause the person to be removed by the use of no more force than is necessary".

"Cause the person to be removed" describes your real job. Nothing in the section requires you to touch anyone, and s. 45 has no force power. So you say the words, and management and security handle the physical part.

When police clear the room

Sections 46 and 47 give power to a police officer, not to you.

Under s. 46 (1), an officer may order all persons to vacate licensed or permitted premises. The trigger is a disturbance or breach of the peace sufficient to constitute a threat to public safety. Section 47 (1) reaches any premises, on a reasonable belief that the Act or a regulation is being contravened. It does not apply to residents (s. 47 (2)).

Two duties follow. The licensee or permit holder must take all reasonable steps to make sure the premises are vacated (s. 46 (3)). Nobody ordered out may return that day without police permission (ss. 46 (2), 47 (3)).

Where the guest goes next

Sections 48 and 49 both turn on s. 31 (1). It makes intoxication an offence in a place the general public is invited or permitted to access. Both give powers to others, not duties to you.

• Section 48 (1): an officer who finds a person apparently contravening s. 31 (1) may take them into custody and escort them to a prescribed hospital, in place of starting a proceeding under the Provincial Offences Act.
• Section 48 (2) and (3): no one may sue a physician or a hospital only for examining or treating such a person without consent, unless the Health Care Consent Act, 1996 requires that consent.
• Section 49 (1) and (3): if a court convicts a person under s. 31 (1), and detention appears likely to benefit them, the court may order treatment in an institution named by the regulations, for up to 90 days. The superintendent may release the person early if detention stops helping.

Both point one way: a hospital instead of a charge, treatment instead of a penalty.

The guest who is driving

Canada's Guidance on Alcohol and Health names driving a motor vehicle as a circumstance when no alcohol at all is safest. Zero is the number, and a refused guest is far past it.

Sections 44 and 45 both say "may". You choose the moment you require a guest to leave, and once you do, that guest must go and stay gone for the day. So arrange the ride first and the departure second.

These moves are good practice, not law:

• Offer to call a taxi or a rideshare, and make the call yourself.
• Give the keys problem to the sober person in the group.
• Slow the exit down. Water and food buy time for a ride to arrive.
• Tell your manager while the guest is still in the building.

The AGCO's intoxication sheet points the same way: stop serving, make sure the patron has a safe way home, and call police if necessary.

Writing it down

No AGCO standard requires you to keep an incident log. Ontario puts no legal duty on you to write up a refusal, and no exam answer should tell you otherwise.

Most employers ask for a note anyway, and the habit protects everyone. A good note has:

• the time
• what you saw
• what you did
• who you told

Follow your house policy.

The trap to expect on the test

The test likes to hand the server a power that belongs to someone else: police clear a room under ss. 46 and 47, and a court orders treatment under s. 49. You require a person to leave, and you cause a removal to happen. The force cap of "no more force than is necessary" sits in s. 44, never in s. 45. An option that says the law requires a written incident report is also wrong.

Recap

This module is one skill in three moments: you read the signs (4-1), you slow or stop service (4-2), then you handle the exit (4-3). The test leans hardest on the exit.

• Section 44 (2) lets a licensee, a permit holder, or an employee require a person to leave for unlawfulness, and allows removal with no more force than is necessary.
• Section 45 (1) covers a person whose presence is undesirable. It allows an order to leave or a ban on entry, and gives no force power.
• Under either section, the person must not remain and must not re-enter that day.
• Only a police officer may clear a room (ss. 46, 47). Only a court may order treatment (s. 49). Section 48 lets an officer take an intoxicated person to hospital instead of a charge.
• Zero alcohol is the guidance for driving. Arrange the ride before you require the guest to leave.
• No AGCO standard requires an incident log. Writing it down is employer practice.