Helping Volunteers Give Back Act, 2015 Jones, Sylvia — Bill 79 (41st Parliament, 1st Session)

Bill 79, 41-1

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 79, Helping Volunteers Give Back Act, 2015

Jones, Sylvia

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[41] Bill 79 Original (PDF)

Bill 79 2015

Act respecting criminal record checks for volunteers

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Purpose

1. The

purpose of this Act is to promote volunteerism by reducing the frequency with

which an organization that retains the services of a volunteer can require a

criminal record check for the volunteer and by reducing the cost to a volunteer

of obtaining a criminal record check, while still ensuring public safety.

Definitions

2. In this Act,

"criminal

record", with respect to a person, means a record of the offences under the Criminal Code (Canada), the Controlled

Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) or any other Act of Canada of which

the person has been convicted and for which the person has not received a

pardon under the Criminal Records Act (Canada);

("casier judiciaire")

"criminal record check", with respect to a person, means

a copy of the person's criminal record, the copy of which complies with the

authenticity requirements that are prescribed in the regulations made under

this Act; ("vérification du casier judiciaire")

"organization" includes a person or body;

("organisation")

"volunteer" means a person who performs work or supplies

a service but who receives no monetary compensation for doing so, other than an

allowance for expenses or an honorarium. (" bénévole ")

Non-application

of Act

3. This Act

does not apply in a municipality where a police force does not charge any fee

for releasing a criminal record check for a volunteer to the volunteer or to an

organization that proposes to retain the services of the volunteer.

Frequency

for criminal record checks

(1) An organization that retains

the services of a volunteer shall not require the volunteer, as a condition of

starting to act as a volunteer with the organization, to provide the

organization, or to consent to having a police force provide the organization,

with a criminal record check for the volunteer if the volunteer has provided

the organization with a criminal record check for the volunteer that is,

(

a) dated

less than one year before the day on which the volunteer starts to act as a

volunteer with the organization; and

(

b) the

most recent criminal record check that the volunteer has obtained.

Notice

of pending proceedings

(2) An organization that retains the

services of a volunteer may require the volunteer, as a condition of starting

to act as a volunteer with the organization, to provide the organization with

notice of,

(

a) all

proceedings that have been commenced against the volunteer and that could

result in the volunteer being convicted of an offence where the conviction

would be added to the volunteer's criminal record; and

(

b) the

final disposition of the proceedings described in clause (a).

Subsequent

criminal record checks

(3) An organization that retains the

services of a volunteer shall not require the volunteer, as a condition of

continuing to act as a volunteer with the organization, to provide the

organization, or to consent to having a police force provide the organization,

with a criminal record check for the volunteer dated less than one year after

the date of the most recent criminal record check for the volunteer that the

organization has received.

Exception

(4) Despite subsections (1) and (3), an

organization that retains the services of a volunteer may require the

volunteer, as a condition of starting or continuing to act as a volunteer with

the organization, to provide the organization, or to consent to having a police

force provide the organization, with a criminal record check for the volunteer

at any time if,

(

a) the

organization has actual notice or reasonable grounds to believe that a

conviction for an offence has been added to the volunteer's criminal record

since the date of the most recent criminal record check for the volunteer that

the organization has received; or

(

b) the

circumstances prescribed by the regulations made under this Act exist.

Providing

additional criminal record checks to volunteer

(1) If a police force releases a

criminal record check for a volunteer to an organization in response to a

request of the organization and if the request of the organization includes a

request of the volunteer for a maximum of five additional originals of the

check, the police force shall, at no additional charge when releasing the check

to the organization, release the additional originals to the volunteer that the

volunteer has requested.

Same,

original request by volunteer

(2) If a police force releases a criminal

record check for a volunteer to the volunteer in response to a request of the

volunteer and if the request includes a request for a maximum of five

additional originals of the check, the police force shall, at no additional

charge when releasing the check to the volunteer, release the additional

originals to the volunteer that the volunteer has requested.

Regulations

6. The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make

regulations,

(

a) prescribing

anything described as prescribed in this Act;

(

b) specifying

time periods for complying with obligations specified in this Act.

Commencement

7. This

Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

8. The

short title of this Act is the Helping Volunteers Give

Back Act, 2015 .

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill enacts a new Act with respect to criminal record checks for volunteers.

The Act does not apply in a municipality where a police force does not charge

any fee for releasing a criminal record check for a volunteer.

organization that retains the services of a volunteer is prohibited from

requiring a criminal record check for the volunteer, as a condition for the

volunteer's starting work with the organization, if the organization receives a

criminal record check for the volunteer that is dated within the year before

the day on which the volunteer starts work with the organization and that is

the most recent criminal record check that the volunteer has obtained. The

criminal record check must meet the authenticity requirements specified by the

regulations made under the Act. The organization can also require the volunteer

to provide notice of all pending criminal proceedings and the final disposition

of those proceedings.

After

a volunteer starts work with an organization, the organization can require a

new criminal record check from the volunteer dated at yearly intervals. In

addition, the organization can require a criminal record check for a volunteer

at any time if the organization has actual notice or reasonable grounds to

believe that a conviction for an offence has been added to the volunteer's

criminal record since the date of the most recent criminal record check for the

volunteer that the organization has received.

When

a police force releases a criminal record check for a volunteer, whether to an

organization or to the volunteer, the police force is required to release a

maximum of five additional originals of the check to the volunteer at no

additional charge if the volunteer so requests.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

March 12, 2015

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

March 12, 2015

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 79, 41-1
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p41 s1 bill 79 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	dd0553ad3aa025cf3ff32e16ebca3cf338fa67d9

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