It also prohibits the disposal of "certain dangerous things" such as used condoms, hypodermic needles and broken glass in outdoor public places.
The act was enacted by the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris and received royal assent on December 14, 1999.
The act has been criticized by many anti-poverty groups such as OCAP (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) for being too strict and too vague in how it defines aggressive panhandling.
[2] The act was protested by a group of one hundred homeless in May 2006 in Ottawa who mostly identified themselves as anarchists[citation needed].
The march and protest was organized by the Ottawa Panhandlers' Union, a local branch of the Ottawa-Outaouais Industrial Workers of the World.