Ontario Government Passes Law Standardizing Police Record Checks – Police Record Check Reform Act, 2015
On December 3, 2015, Bill 113, Police Record Check Reform Act, 2015 received royal assent. The Act introduces new standards that will apply to all police services in Ontario. The intent of the legislation is to eliminate barriers to employment, while balancing public safety and the protection of individual human rights and privacy. The legislation will ensure consistent application of police record checks across the province.
In the past, people have been denied employment and volunteer opportunities due to background checks which have included information about mental illness or police contact that did not lead to a conviction.
For employers that currently use police background checks as part of their recruitment process, these changes may result in fewer candidates being screened out of consideration due to their police record.
The new legislation sets the province’s first-ever standards to govern how police record checks are conducted in Ontario:
- Defines three types of police record checks: criminal record checks, criminal record and judicial matters checks, and vulnerable sector checks.
- Limits and standardizes the types of information that can be released in each type of record check.
- Standardizes disclosure practices, such as ensuring that the person to whom a record relates has the opportunity to review the results prior to permitting its release to a requesting third party.
Three Types of Police Record Checks:
Criminal Record Check: Criminal convictions and findings of guilt under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check: Criminal Record Check plus outstanding charges, arrest warrants, certain judicial orders, absolute discharges, conditional discharges, other records as authorized by the Criminal Records Act.
Vulnerable Sector Check: Used for people working or volunteering with vulnerable populations such as children, seniors and persons with disabilities – criminal record check and judicial check plus findings of not criminally responsible due to mental disorder, record suspensions (pardons) related to sexually-based offences and non-conviction information related to the predation of a child or other vulnerable person.
Police Record Check – Screening Tool
A police record check refers to a search of records that are held in police databases and are sometimes requested as part of a screening process for employment, volunteering, and when applying for a professional license.
Police record checks are just one tool that organizations may use to screen potential employees or volunteers. Other examples of effective screening practices include resumes, interviews, personal reference checks, performance reviews, client feedback or other assessments.
Before choosing to include a police record check in the screening process organizations should understand their obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code with respect to hiring employees or volunteers. If a police record check is necessary for a position, it should only be conducted as the last step in the selection process after other screening tools have identified a suitable candidate.
Implementation of New Police Record Check Standards
The date of commencement for Bill 113 has not yet been announced.
More information is available from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.
