Be smart, Stay safe: Important safety information for students

Sept. 3, 2021
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Laurier’s campuses are communities within the larger communities of Brantford, Waterloo and Kitchener. Together we can do what is needed to help ensure the safety of ourselves and our neighbours and to ensure that the respect, safety and consideration evident in our campus communities extend to your interactions in our wider communities.

Laurier is committed to ensuring our students, staff, faculty and anyone who visits our locations is safe. Safety is something that we all play a part in.

To ensure you have all the information you need to keep everyone safe, we have provided you with the following tips:

Staying safe during the pandemic

  • As students return to Laurier, we want to remind everyone we are still in a global pandemic. Our top priority as a community is to keep people safe. 
    • Keeping each other safe includes not engaging in some of the riskiest behaviours such as unsanctioned street parties. Wilfrid Laurier University expects all our community members to respect and follow public health guidelines and discourages all students from attending these types of events, especially those that contravene the rules set by public health and the province of Ontario.
  • Everyone can do their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by avoiding gatherings, staying physically distant, and wearing a mask when required.
    • Members of the university community must follow Laurier’s vaccine requirements to help reduce the spread of the virus and its variants. Starting in September, vaccination will be a requirement for all Laurier students, faculty and staff who are attending our campus locations.
  • Breaking public health guidelines can also lead to serious consequences. If people do not respect the provincial restrictions regarding indoor and outdoor gatherings limits, the consequences include serious fines for failing to comply with an order during a declared emergency. 
    • Anyone attending an illegal gathering could get a ticket, and bylaw officers would focus on the person(s) responsible for the property, including tenants and organizers.
  • Students will be held accountable if they break the provincial rules around gathering. The university will employ sanctions under the Non-Academic Student Code of Conduct — up to and including suspension — as required.
  • The safety of students, neighbours and community partners is our No. 1 priority. We work closely with Public Health officials, the City of Waterloo, the City of Brantford, Waterloo Regional and/or Brantford Police Services and emergency services partners to ensure the safety of our students and our neighbours. We strongly encourage our students to make smart choices and engage in safe and respectful behaviours.

Safety Messaging

Police Approach and Student Code of Conduct sanctions

  • With the rise in unsanctioned gatherings at Ontario universities, concern for student safety has increased.
  • You will see more police officers working to disperse crowds attempting to gather on the street and issuing tickets for all by-law and provincial violations such as drinking alcohol in public places, exceeding public health guidelines for gathering internally and externally.
  • Students are accountable for their actions. Should the university become aware of unwanted student activity, the university will employ sanctions under the Non-Academic Student Code of Conduct — up to and including suspension — as required.

Guest policy and building access:

  • No guests will be allowed in Laurier residence during the fall 2021 semester. The zero-guest restriction will be strictly enforced with a wristband policy.

It CAN happen to you. Make smart choices to stay safe.

  • Unsanctioned gatherings are not safe. Increased crowd size and density has led to dangerous and illegal behaviour, assaults and injuries. At a recent unsanctioned street gathering, paramedics responded to 70 calls for help; and high numbers of people were transported to hospital.
  • Emergency responders and hospitals have to bring in additional resources to manage the unsanctioned street gatherings and to ensure that they can respond to other community members who need help throughout the city. Please consider the impact of your choices on yourself, your friends, and the people who live in our community.
  • At past unsanctioned gatherings, many people were transported to hospital, with a significant number in critical or serious condition related to alcohol and substance misuse. If you are of legal age and choose to consume alcohol, drink in moderation, know your limits, and don’t drink and drive. For tips on planning ahead, visit “don’t let your drinking do your thinking” drinksmart.ca/tips. Police will issue tickets for drinking underage and for drinking in unlicensed public places.
  • Always carry I.D.: Either carry photo I.D. with you or have a photo of your I.D. on your phone in the event you require emergency assistance. In past years, emergency room doctors were faced with treating patients they couldn’t identify.
  • Look out for your friends: If you or a friend needs help, always ask for it. Download the SAFEHawk app, contact Special Constables at 519.885.3333 in Waterloo or 519.770.3778 in Brantford or call 911 if the situation gets out of hand and you need help. Stick together, never leave a friend behind and ensure you all make it home safely. Designate one person to help someone in trouble and make sound decisions.
  • Consent: It is necessary to obtain consent for all sexual encounters. Drinking eliminates your ability to give and receive consent – wait until you’re sober. For more information and support resources, visit Consent is Golden or contact Sarah Scanlon, manager of Sexual Violence Response at sscanlon@wlu.ca.
  • Arrange for a safe way home: use Foot Patrol 519-886-3668 (FOOT) in Waterloo or 519.751.7875 (PTRL) in Brantford, call a taxi or use the Friend Walk feature in the SAFEHawk app.

Fire safety (from Waterloo Fire Rescue):

  • If there is a fire inside your building, follow the emergency procedures and know where the exits are in your building.
  • Falsely setting off a fire alarm, fire extinguisher or smoke alarm is a Criminal Code of Canada offence. The fine for setting false alarms is $642 per fire truck dispatched to your property.

Charges and Fines

Municipal enforcement:

  • The fine for littering or urinating in public is $300.
  • The fine for excessive garbage in your yard is $550 and people may be required to pay for costs of any cleanup done by city.
  • The fine for excessive noise is $490.
  • Officers may charge tenants at their doors (often all responsible parties on the lease) and require them to clean up (proactively and reactively) while the officer is onsite. A Part III summons to court may be issued for any offence.
  • Gathering limits under the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA) Emergency Orders: social gatherings (more than 25 inside or 100 outside). Violation is a fine of $880.

Street behaviour (from Waterloo Regional Police):

  • Waterloo Regional Police will be increasing patrols on foot, in cruisers and on bicycles, and they will take a firm approach to enforcing laws.
  • Gathering on the street is not a sanctioned event and consuming alcohol in public areas is prohibited. Violations will result in a $125 ticket.

Alcohol (from Waterloo Regional Police):

  • Selling alcohol at keg parties is illegal. Police continue to monitor the illegal sale of alcohol.
  • Charging money for people to consume alcohol, even when promoted as a ‘cleanup fee’ or a ‘fee for the bracelet,' is still considered selling alcohol by police and the courts.
  • If purchasing alcohol, do so from a licensed establishment, be of legal drinking age, drink responsibly, and arrange a safe way home.
  • The fine for drinking underage is $125.
  • The fine for consuming alcohol in public is $125.
  • The fine for being intoxicated in public is $65.