Stalker used eye reflections in online photos

[480sparky]

About the law more generally: When the law changed, I was not doing photography, so I was not really paying attention. I am pretty sure this is a Provincial level law, so it would apply throughout Ontario, but not in other provinces. That would be like a Vermont law not having any effect in California. The other possibilities are Municipal level (the City), and I don't think it is something the City could pass, and Federal (applying to the whole country, unless specifically limited). I think it is part of "Privacy" law.

Also, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if the law says I cannot take the picture or just cannot publish the picture. I have been more worried about "publishing" the picture, since I have a natural inclination to not take pictures that others might find annoying, but sometimes I get people in a picture unavoidably.

I'm not sure exactly what law you're referring to, but everything I can find on the topic suggests street photography is perfectly legal in Toronto/Ontario, with a few exceptions—some unique to the area, but most pretty common.

• You can't be trespassing on private property, or otherwise breaking the law while taking a photo (obviously). This is the case practically everywhere. In Canada, trespassing on private property at night if there is a dwelling house nearby is also a criminal offence.
• You can't take pictures of people anywhere they have a "reasonable expectation of privacy". Ontario, as far as I can tell after some very light research, does not actually have a specific law about this as some other provinces do, but "breach of privacy" is a tort at common law, and you run the risk of being sued. It's pretty well-established in Canada that a person's reasonable expectation of privacy is either nonexistent or greatly diminished in public places, such as on the street. However, you should be careful about shooting in the direction of people's backyards or homes, where your camera might capture something through a window (or at least use a polarizing filter ).
• Going a bit further: you cannot surreptitiously take photographs anywhere where someone has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and could reasonably be expected to be nude, exposing their genitals, or engaged in sexual activity. This is criminal voyeurism under the Canadian Criminal Code, and you could be charged.
• In Toronto, you can't shoot for payment on city property without a permit. So no parks, no government buildings, etc. Shooting in general is totally fine, you just can't do it commercially without the permit. It's not very clear to me whether this also includes sidewalks—the definition of "park" in the municipal code is a bit ambiguous—but since the aim of this section is to keep large productions from clogging up public spaces, I doubt you'd ever be hassled for taking simple street photographs if you weren't wearing a sandwich board that said "I'M DOING THIS FOR $$$$".

So again, as far as I can tell, it's totally legal to be taking pictures in public, as long as you're not otherwise breaking the law or doing so commercially.

That's what the LAW says. Most people don't give a rodents' rectum about laws.