Current Industry Issues
CURRENT ISSUES AND INDUSTRY CHALLENGES
New Update - May 5, 2011
PUBLIC SAFETY MINISTER VIC TOEWS SUPPORTS THE COLLECTION OF FINGERPRINTS FROM ALL CANADIANS.
Is Minister Vic Toews is creating a fingerprint registry for Canadians? He has established a directive as Minister of Public Safety, to require all record checks to include fingerprinting
“It is anticipated that the Ministerial Directive and this policy will remain in effect until the RCMP criminal records system is fully automated and fingerprints are required for all Criminal Record and Vulnerable Sector Verifications.”
If you volunteer for anything, health, sports, community, school (this means all teachers, coaches, good Samaritans) – a full set of fingerprints will be required.
Any job posting requiring a background check will require fingerprints.
Freedom of Information requires that RCMP retain Criminal Record Search identification documents for 2 years. The RCMP is now assuring us that the fingerprints accompanying these documents are being destroyed "after 90 days upon completion of the Criminal Record Check Process". Until now, there was no proof of this 90 day policy. Now, the RCMP have responded to our request to put forth on their Public Facing website an assurance.
You can view it here:
www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cr-cj/fing-empr2-eng.htm
This caveat does not allie Canadian concerns to the fact that a Fingerprint Registry is in the making nor does it imply that this process may not change in the future.
• As yet, we have not been given a clear indication of their destruction procedures or whether they can later be reclaimed.
• As yet, we have not received clarity on why they require all of our Fingerprints to begin with other than confirming the identity of persons sharing similar Birth Dates.
What guarantee do we Canadians have that our Fingerprints will not end up in the wrong Databases in error. It has happened before with other types of information.
**NOTE: Large numbers of files mistakenly held in RCMP excempt data banks "disturbing" says Privacy Commissioner
www.priv.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2008/nr-c_080213_e.cfm
www.cpic-cipc.ca/pdfs/Ministerial%20Directive.pdf
www.cpic-cipc.ca/English/crimrec.cfm
NEW - April 27, 2011
PUBLIC SAFETY MINISTER VIC TOEWS SUPPORTS A FINGERPRINT REGISTRY FOR ALL CANADIANS
Minister Vic Toews is creating a fingerprint registry for Canadians. He has established a directive as Minister of Public Safety, to require all record checks to include fingerprinting
“It is anticipated that the Ministerial Directive and this policy will remain in effect until the RCMP criminal records system is fully automated and fingerprints are required for all Criminal Record and Vulnerable Sector Verifications.”
If you volunteer for anything, health, sports, community, school (this means all teachers, coaches, good Samaritans) – a fingerprint will be required.
Any job posting requiring a background check will require fingerprints.
Minister Toews will tell you fingerprints will be destroyed upon completion of the Criminal Record Check, however, the policy of the RCMP (who run all the fingerprint checks) www.cpic-cipc.ca/English/crimrec.cfm / states identification documents will be held a minimum of 24 MONTHS. Don’t be fooled, this is a minimum. Do not read this statement and believe that after 2 years the record will be destroyed.
This is clearly a fingerprint registry. For all Canadians.
The evidence is right here:
http://www.cpic-cipc.ca/pdfs/Ministerial%20Directive1.pdf
http://www.cpic-cipc.ca/English/crimrec.cfm
Effective December 1, 2009, the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and the RCMP instated a change in Protocol in obtaining Police Record Screening in Canada, which has changed the industry of Professional Background Screeners significantly. Since then, our industry has made some strides in having access to Criminal Records partially restored – although we are by no means finished our campaign to have the process restored to the way we were all enjoying before December 1, 2009.
In February, we received an update from the Criminal Record Information Police Working Group, which held its first conference in Ottawa from January 19-21, 2010. The purpose of the Working Group was essentially to address the current situation with Police Record Screening in Canada and identify and develop possible solutions. The update in its entirety may be found on the CPIC website at: http://www.cpic-cipc.ca/English/crworking_e.cfm
Essentially, the update was to inform us on what the Working Group found and is considering – unfortunately at this point, no changes have been implemented to the “Interim Policy”, as is currently shown on their website. Therefore, at this time, no Third Party company is currently able to facilitate the process of obtaining Vulnerable Sector Screening in Canada. Nor at this time, are Police Agencies or Third Party companies able to release any Details of Criminal Records without Positive Identification through the submission of the individual’s Fingerprints.
However, Third Party Companies with approved Memorandum’s of Undertstanding with Partner Police Departments, remain able to continue to provide clients with the Standard CPIC Criminal Record Check, where our Partner Police Department search the National Repository of Criminal Records, based on name(s), date of birth and address for:
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Records of criminal convictions for which a pardon has not been granted, and conditional and absolute discharges which have not been removed from the CPIC system in accordance with the Criminal Records Act
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Wanted person information, which is information relating to a person who is arrestable and/or for whom a warrant has been issued.
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Accused person information, which is information relating to a person against whom criminal legal proceedings have been commenced and are in progress.
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Prohibitions and other judicial orders which are in effect.
The Standard Criminal Record Check does not search for Pardoned Sexual Offences or incidents protected under the Mental Health or Family Acts.
Our industry collectively continues to negotiate with the RCMP and campaign for the right to have Police Record Screening reinstated to what it once was. We will continue to post information on the website as updates are received.
