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Field Notes.

Surveillance craft, gear and technology, intelligence articles and practical guidance, written by working investigators, minus the cases we can’t talk about.

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The four articles that answer what most first-time readers came to find out.

  1. How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Private Investigator in Ontario? How PIs bill, what drives the price, and why the cheapest quote usually costs you more.
  2. What to Expect During a Surveillance Investigation Intake, planning, what can be captured, timelines, and your court-ready report.
  3. How Skip Tracing Actually Works in Canada The lawful source stack, and why free people-search sites fail on Canadian subjects.
  4. Background Checks in Ontario The three regulated check types, what the 2018 reform restricted, and your rights as the subject.

Read by role.

Five curated desks that gather the articles, legal references and services relevant to how you arrived here.

  1. For Lawyers Instructing an investigator, privilege and disclosure, admissibility, and litigation support services.
  2. For Landlords Screening, LTB evidence, bad-faith disputes, renovictions and tenant locates.
  3. For Business Internal theft, terminations, hiring checks, fraud and workplace investigations.
  4. For Individuals Infidelity, finding a person, online fraud, personal safety, cost and process.
  5. For Investigators Craft, gear, licensing, and the employment law of the trade itself.
  1. The Digital Privacy Toolkit: A Licensed Investigator’s Guide to Cyber Safety The tools we actually recommend: Proton VPN or Mullvad, Proton Mail, KeePassXC or Proton Pass, plus the phone, router and update habits that close the easy doors. Security & Counter-Surveillance · August 2026 · 20 min read
  2. How to Protect Your Privacy Online: A Private Investigator’s Personal Security Checklist A tool-specific privacy checklist: kill SMS 2FA, lock down accounts with a password manager and a hardware key, and know when a threat needs a professional. Family & Personal · August 2026 · 9 min read
  3. Illegal Sublets and Unauthorized Occupants in Ontario: Proving It at the LTB The s. 100 application has a hard 60-day clock from discovery. What proves unauthorized occupancy, and what to document first. Landlord & Tenant · August 2026 · 7 min read
  4. The Tenant Skipped Owing Money: Collecting on an LTB Order in Ontario An order is not money. How enforcement runs through Small Claims Court, why the locate comes first, and when pursuit is worth it. Landlord & Tenant · August 2026 · 6 min read
  5. Workplace Harassment Investigations in Ontario: What OHSA Actually Requires Investigations are mandatory, 'appropriate in the circumstances,' with written results to both parties. And the Ministry's backstop has teeth. Corporate & Workplace · August 2026 · 7 min read
  6. How to Become a Private Investigator in Ontario Eligibility, mandatory training and test, the $80 application, what agencies actually hire for, and the craft that makes a career. Law & The Profession · August 2026 · 6 min read
  7. Hidden Assets in an Ontario Divorce: How They Are Found and Proven Equalization runs on sworn disclosure. Where assets hide, what is lawfully searchable, and what non-disclosure costs under s. 56(4). Family & Personal · August 2026 · 7 min read
  8. Custody Investigations in Ontario: What Helps the Best-Interests Case, and What Backfires When an investigation is proportionate in a parenting case, what gets documented, and the self-help that destroys credibility. Family & Personal · August 2026 · 7 min read
  9. Parental Alienation in Ontario: Documenting the Pattern Without Poisoning Your Case The Divorce Act factor that carries the weight, what the pattern looks like on paper, and the recording mistake that backfires. Family & Personal · August 2026 · 7 min read
  10. Domestic Abuse Evidence in Family Court: Building the Record Lawfully and Safely The family-violence definition covers patterns, no conviction required. What evidence carries weight, gathered without raising risk. Family & Personal · August 2026 · 7 min read
  11. Background Checks in Canada: Types, Consent, and What They Reveal Every check that exists in Canada, what each returns, who can lawfully run it, and where each is blind: police checks, credit, verification, courts and OSINT. Evidence & Intelligence · August 2026 · 13 min read
  12. Is GPS Tracking Legal in Canada? Vehicles, Partners, Employees and Private Investigators When GPS tracking is legal in Canada: your own car, a spouse’s vehicle, employee fleet tracking, and what Ontario private investigators can actually do. Law & The Profession · August 2026 · 12 min read
  13. Art of Surveillance: Techniques Every Investigator Should Know Part 4 Rural and small-town surveillance: working at distance, following on empty roads, surviving small-town scrutiny, and the legal lines on private land. Surveillance & Field Craft · The Art of Surveillance 04 · August 2026 · 11 min read
  14. Art of Surveillance: Techniques Every Investigator Should Know Part 3 Static surveillance and the long sit: holding a position for twelve hours, managing attention, logging the nothing, and knowing when to move or call it. Surveillance & Field Craft · The Art of Surveillance 03 · August 2026 · 11 min read
  15. Contractor or Employee? The Law and Legal Responsibilities of Licence Holders in Ontario Contractor or employee? What Ontario’s PSISA and employment law actually require of private investigators and the agencies that hire them. Law & The Profession · The First Year 02 · August 2026 · 9 min read
  16. How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Private Investigator in Ontario? What a private investigator costs in Ontario, how PIs bill, what drives the price, and why the cheapest quote usually costs you more. Surveillance & Field Craft · July 2026 · 9 min read
  17. What to Expect During a Surveillance Investigation A behind-the-glass walkthrough of a surveillance investigation in Ontario: intake, planning, what can be captured, timelines, and your court-ready report. Surveillance & Field Craft · July 2026 · 10 min read
  18. Signs Your Partner May Be Cheating, and How a PI Investigation Works Behavioural signs worth taking seriously, what an Ontario PI can legally do to confirm infidelity, whether the evidence matters, and what it costs. Family & Personal · July 2026 · 10 min read
  19. How Skip Tracing Actually Works in Canada, and Why Free People-Search Sites Fail How skip tracing and locates actually work in Canada, the records investigators can lawfully use, and why free people-search sites fail on Canadian subjects. Evidence & Intelligence · July 2026 · 16 min read
  20. Asset Searches in Ontario: What’s Findable Before Judgment, and After An Ontario asset search before judgment is a collectability test. What is lawfully searchable, what is not, and the enforcement tools a judgment unlocks. Evidence & Intelligence · July 2026 · 13 min read
  21. Planning a High-Risk Termination: What Employers Get Wrong How to plan a high-risk termination in Ontario: risk assessment, meeting logistics, access revocation, and the OHSA duties employers miss until the day of. Corporate & Workplace · July 2026 · 17 min read
  22. Drones in Investigations: Transport Canada Rules vs What Courts Accept Drone rules for Ontario investigations: Transport Canada RPAS requirements, privacy and evidence limits, and the pre-flight checklist that keeps footage usable. Surveillance & Field Craft · July 2026 · 15 min read
  23. Investigating in Northern and Remote Ontario: Logistics, Access and Cost What a northern Ontario investigation actually costs and why: travel time, fly-in access, winter roads, cover in small communities, and the real cost drivers. Surveillance & Field Craft · July 2026 · 13 min read
  24. Background Checks in Ontario: What’s Legal, What’s Available, and What the Police Record Checks Reform Act Changed What an Ontario background check can legally reveal, the three police record check types under the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, and your rights. Corporate & Workplace · July 2026 · 15 min read
  25. Instructing an Investigator as Counsel: Privilege, Scope Letters and What to Put in Writing How Ontario counsel should retain and instruct a private investigator: litigation privilege, the dominant purpose test, surveillance disclosure, scope letters. Evidence & Intelligence · July 2026 · 13 min read
  26. Social Media Evidence in Claims: What’s Admissible and What Gets Excluded What makes social media evidence admissible in an Ontario claim, what gets it excluded, and why a bare screenshot rarely survives a real challenge. Evidence & Intelligence · July 2026 · 17 min read
  27. Pre-Employment Due Diligence Without Breaching PIPEDA Pre-employment due diligence done lawfully in Ontario: consent, purpose and proportionality, police record checks, social media screening, and adverse findings. Corporate & Workplace · July 2026 · 14 min read
  28. Internal Theft: Building a Case That Survives a Wrongful Dismissal Claim Internal theft in Ontario: what an employer must prove for just cause, the first 48 hours, the ESA wilful misconduct trap, and the interview mistakes that cost. Corporate & Workplace · July 2026 · 13 min read
  29. Romance and Investment Fraud: Verifying Someone You’ve Only Met Online How to verify someone you met online before sending money: reverse image search, live video-call tests, CSA registration checks, and the first 24 hours. Family & Personal · July 2026 · 13 min read
  30. Choosing a Camcorder for Surveillance Work: Five Budget Models Compared Five budget camcorders compared for surveillance: optical zoom, low light, stabilization, batteries, and why none of them have true night vision. Surveillance & Field Craft · The First Year 01 · July 2026 · 9 min read
  31. Bad-Faith Evictions and the LTB: What an Investigation Can Prove The N12 own-use notice, how bad faith is established at a hearing, and the remedies that make a documented case worth building. Landlord & Tenant · July 2026 · 4 min read
  32. TSCM Explained: How a Professional Bug Sweep Actually Works What a professional TSCM sweep actually involves, what consumer detectors miss, and the situations that genuinely call for one. Security & Counter-Surveillance · July 2026 · 4 min read
  33. Digital Forensics: What’s Recoverable, and What’s Admissible Deleting a file rarely destroys it. What forensics can recover, and what separates recoverable data from admissible evidence. Evidence & Intelligence · July 2026 · 4 min read
  34. Penetration Testing vs a Security Audit: What Testing Actually Reveals An audit tells you what your policies say. A test tells you what happens when someone actually tries to get in. Corporate & Workplace · July 2026 · 4 min read
  35. Ontario RTA Changes 2026: What Bill 60 Actually Means for Landlords A plain landlord’s guide to Bill 60: the 7-day N4, lighter N12 compensation, a 15-day review window, doubled fines, and when each change lands. Landlord & Tenant · Regulation Watch 04 · July 2026 · 9 min read
  36. Ontario Auto Insurance Changes July 2026: What SABS Reform Means for Claims Ontario’s SABS reform: mandatory med and rehab, optional income and caregiver benefits, auto pays first, and what it changes for claims and investigations. Insurance & Claims · Regulation Watch 03 · July 2026 · 9 min read
  37. Coercive Control and Canadian Law: Where Things Actually Stand Bill C-16 makes coercive control a criminal offence, in force by 2028. What it covers, why it already matters in family court, and how patterns are documented. Family & Personal · June 2026 · 10 min read
  38. What Is PGP Encryption? A Practical Guide to Using It The two problems PGP solves, how public and private keys work, and step-by-step setup on Mac, Windows and Linux, with the command reference. Security & Counter-Surveillance · April 2026 · 12 min read
  39. How to Screen a Tenant Legally in Ontario What landlords can legally check, what the Human Rights Code prohibits, what PIPEDA consent requires, and how to spot professional tenants. Landlord & Tenant · March 2026 · 11 min read
  40. Ontario Private Investigator Law Changes: What the PSISA Review Could Mean Ontario is reviewing the law that licenses private investigators. What could change on definitions, oversight, and the police distinction, and what has not. Law & The Profession · Regulation Watch 02 · February 2026 · 8 min read
  41. Hamilton Renoviction Bylaw: A Landlord’s Guide to the N13 Renovation Licence Serve an N13 in Hamilton and the clock starts: seven days to apply for a Renovation Licence, proof the unit must be vacant, the right of return, and rent-gap compensation. Landlord & Tenant · Regulation Watch 01 · December 2025 · 9 min read
  42. WSIB Surveillance: What Employers and Claimants Should Know Is WSIB surveillance legal in Ontario? What it looks for, how evidence holds up at a hearing, and the privacy rights claimants keep. Insurance & Claims · October 2025 · 11 min read
  43. What Open-Source Intelligence Actually Means for a Business What open-source intelligence actually covers, where it earns its keep in corporate work, and the legal line between screening and snooping. Evidence & Intelligence · August 2025 · 10 min read
  44. What’s Actually in an Investigator’s Field Kit The camera courts rely on, the 12-hour vehicle setup, and the equipment a licensed investigator deliberately leaves behind. Surveillance & Field Craft · Field Kit 01 · April 2025 · 10 min read
  45. How to Spot Employee Fraud Before It Costs You What counts as fraud, the warning signs owners miss, and why the first days after a suspicion matter more than anything that follows. Corporate & Workplace · February 2025 · 10 min read
  46. Art of Surveillance: Techniques Every Investigator Should Know Part 2 Mobile surveillance for licensed investigators: burn zones, following distance, cover cars, and knowing when to let the subject go. Surveillance & Field Craft · The Art of Surveillance 02 · January 2025 · 11 min read
  47. Tenant Troubles? How Private Solutions Investigators Assist Landlords A single problematic tenant can derail months of hard work, threaten your financial stability, and cause ongoing stress. Landlord & Tenant · December 2024 · 10 min read
  48. Art of Surveillance: Techniques Every Investigator Should Know Part 1 Thorough preparation, solid methodology, and adherence to legal guidelines are the cornerstones of any successful surveillance operation. Surveillance & Field Craft · The Art of Surveillance 01 · December 2024 · 14 min read

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