Canadian Criminal Records – The Stumbling Block for would-be Volunteers

Canadians love to volunteer. Each and every day, Canadians devote their time to worthy causes. In fact, over a third of Canadians over the age of 15 have volunteered! The benefits of volunteering are tremendous, both on a community level, as well as personally. Volunteering gives Canadians the opportunity to give back to their great communities, or to contribute to a worthy cause. Furthermore, the personal benefits gained from great team environments, involvement in event planning, coordinating, and multiple other business operations are invaluable to Canadians looking to gain experience to supplement their resumes and CVs.

            

The opportunity for volunteering is drying up in Canada, however, as a result of recent criminal legislation. This legislation stipulates that an increasing number of volunteer organizations, including many large and well known non-profits, require criminal back ground checks on prospective volunteers. This legislation is not limited to any province in specific; it has a nation-wide effect.

            

The results have had an impact on the organizations as well as the prospective volunteers. Firstly, the organizations that are now required to get the criminal background checks face increasing waits with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for their results as more and more requests pile up. Secondly, these organizations, due to the long processing time, lose out on valuable volunteers which many rely on for their day-to-day operations and special events. Finally, the would-be volunteers lose out on the opportunity to give back to their community or cause, as well as the valuable experience that volunteering provides.

           

13% of Canadians have a criminal record. This is a large number of Canadians that are being excluded from the ability to volunteer. It is important that checks be done in some circumstances for safety and diligence; however, the broad and often misrepresentative criminal record checks provided by the RCMP’s database which logs all encounters, not just offenses, can be seriously harmful to great volunteer candidates.

            

A criminal record check can be done quickly and affordably. It is in the best interest of these good Canadian samaritans to get a fast, cheap, background check to expedite volunteering and to get back to doing good for the community, environment, Canada, and themselves. 

HIRING PRACTICES EXPOSED - Red Carded Before the Game

Increasingly, companies are using criminal record checks in their hiring process before even talking to the applicant. The criminal record check industry has provided a readily available, popular, and inexpensive tool for pre-screening hopeful applicants. This use, now widespread, eliminates all job candidates with criminal records. People with criminal records are routinely being denied any opportunity to establish their job qualifications. Such a “blanket” approach is clearly flawed if not plain wrong; it seems not only unreasonable but also potentially illegal under civil rights laws.

Criminal background checks serve to determine the safety and security risk of candidates for employment or promotion. However, to assume that the existence of a criminal record accurately predicts such risk is illogical. Employers are using these checks as a way of determining character rather than qualification. The best qualified or even well-qualified individuals are being swept aside irrationally. These blanket exclusions provide no opportunity for employers to consider critical information, such as the nature and age of an offence plus its relationship to the job.

Another emerging aspect is the potential for covert discrimination – using criminal records to screen applicants serves as a facially neutral selection process that invites consideration and review. As such, the National Employment Law Project’s March 2011 report urges employers to reconsider their current hiring policies. An individualized assessment should take into account the nature and gravity of the offense(s), the time that has passed since the conviction and/or completion of the sentence, and the nature of the job held or sought. This approach would ensure that people with criminal records are not eliminated for youthful indiscretions, minor run-ins with the law, or more serious offenses from long ago.

Supporting this approach is the fact that a criminal record is difficult to interpret, making it a misleading tool to determine risk on the job. The BC Civil Liberties Association has raised concerns about employers using the PRIME (Police Records Information Management Environment) database for pre-employment checks. In the past, this database was considered a highly confidential tool for law enforcement. One of the problems inherent in using this database now for employment screening is that some information is being recorded as “negative contact,” a concept far too broad in scope for employers to base life-defining decisions upon. If it is going to be used increasingly for background checks, people will be demanding greater access to ensure information provided is accurate. 

This is another example of what you don’t know can hurt you. How many people can tell you with 100% certainty what is in their file? How many of these hiring managers even know what their file says about them? If you are serious about your employment search or career advancement – do your best to have ALL the answers before you become excited about an application submission. Your past experiences, hard work, education and qualifications may be worth absolutely nothing to a potential employer if you set off a red flag. 

Pardons allow new start, applicants say.

Here is a brief summary of a recent article by CBC News. To read the original article, please follow the link at the bottom of this article.
Old habits do die hard, but there comes a time when habits have to be broken: The cycle that so often plagues people struggling to cope with too little, if any, income and the demands of daily life – the cycle that sometimes leads to desperate acts, often illegal ones, results in a criminal record.
Over 4 million people in Canada have criminal records; and spokespeople at the Parole Board of Canada, the RCMP, and the Department of Justice say that only a very small percentage of people apply for pardons, often because they have no choice. Applying for a pardon is a long process involving hundreds of dollars in expenses in addition to the administrative fee that the Parole Board now charges – a fee increased just last December from $50 to $150.
If a person has a criminal record and has not been pardoned, finding housing, crossing the border into the U.S., getting a job, even just part time, is next to impossible. Not having a pardon is a “big deal.” Many application forms ask if the applicant has committed a crime for which the person has not been pardoned. Even when a company might hire someone without checking his or her criminal history, there is the constant fear that the criminal record will be discovered. And should a situation occur that causes management to do a company-wide background check, that record will indeed be discovered, usually leading to dismissal.
To apply for a pardon, individuals must have served their sentences or paid their fines and lived crime-free for five or ten years, depending on the severity of the offence; and they must pay the application fee. Now the Parole Board wants to raise that fee to more than $600 from $150, and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews feels that the applicant “should be paying for those pardons on a cost-recovery basis” – that is, pay the full cost, believing ordinary Canadians shouldn’t have to shoulder the expense.
Individuals can apply for a pardon by themselves however, the process can be difficult. The petition can be aided by using Pardon Services Canada, a reputable private company established in 1989 and having a success rate of 99 percent. The services include creating and compiling all the necessary forms required to support the application and handling all communications from the NPB and other government agencies. All documents required are obtained in a timely manner, and each case is processed expeditiously.
The Harper government wants the Parole Board to allow fewer pardon applications and spend more time on each, with the board’s cost breakdown estimating the increased administrative cost at $631!
Opponents of the heftier fees feel the issue is about more than cost. Most individuals applying for pardons live on low incomes, and the additional amount is purely out of reach. Toews recognizes these legitimate factors, thus the Parole Board held public consultations in February when Canadians were asked to say what they thought of quadrupling the price. Dozens of people reacted by saying that the higher cost will make a pardon impossible to get.
Most pardons are given to people who commit non-violent offences. Worthy of note is this list of Offences from 2000-2010 that earned pardons. Shouldn’t we be helping rather than hindering those who struggle to reintegrate into society?
References:
Pardons allow new start, applicants say
Parole board begins consultations on pardon application fee hike

SOUTH KOREA PARDONS BROTHER OF EX-PRESIDENT

South Korea pardons brother of ex-president, corporate executives as part of annual tradition
By The Associated Press (CP) – Aug 12, 2010

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea announced special pardons for the imprisoned older brother of late President Roh Moo-hyun and 18 corporate executives as part of traditional amnesties granted during Liberation Day celebrations.

The Justice Ministry said 2,493 people would be given presidential pardons, reduced sentences or have their civil rights restored starting Saturday. Liberation Day — which commemorates the Aug. 15, 1945, end of Japanese colonial rule over the Korean peninsula — and other holidays are often marked in this way.

Among those pardoned is Roh Gun-pyeong, who was convicted and sentenced last year to two and a half years in prison for influence-peddling while his brother was president in 2006. The former president jumped to his death in May last year while embroiled in a separate corruption scandal.

The corporate executives pardoned include former Samsung group vice chairman Lee Hak-soo, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for breach of trust. Lee had been given a suspended five-year prison sentence.

The vast majority of the pardons were given to those found guilty of election law violations, including a number of politicians.