April 15, 1999
To:Economic Development Committee
From: Executive Director of Human Resources
Subject: Police Reference Checks and the Hiring Process
Purpose:
To obtain approval to enter into an agreement with the Toronto Police Service to conduct
police reference checks on individuals whose prospective primary employment or volunteer
duties with the City would involve working directly with children, youth and/or other
vulnerable populations as necessary. This report concerns itself with implementation for staff
and volunteers working with children and/or youth in the Parks and Recreation Services
Division in particular.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
The current cost of conducting a police reference check on a prospective employee is $40.00
plus GST. The financial impact if half of the costs are borne by the Economic Development,
Culture and Tourism department as recommended is $44,084.00. The cost for conducting a
police reference check on a volunteer is $15.00 plus GST and the yearly cost to the
department as recommended is not expected to exceed $2,808.75.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1)authority be granted for the City of Toronto to enter into an agreement with the Toronto
Police Service to conduct a police reference check as the final stage in the hiring process
where primary employment or volunteer duties involve working directly with children, youth
and/or other vulnerable populations as required;
(2)the policy to conduct a police reference check as outlined in recommendation (1) be
implemented in the Parks & Recreation Services Division of the Economic Development,
Culture and Tourism Department as a first step in implementing the policy city-wide where
appropriate;
(3)prospective employees bear half of the cost of the police reference check, with the other
half being borne by the Parks & Recreation Services Division of the City;
(4)the City pays the cost of conducting police reference checks on volunteers;
(5)the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary actions to
give effect thereto; and
(6)a further report be submitted by the Executive Director of Human Resources, in
consultation with the City Solicitor, with respect to the issues of police reference checks on
current employees who work with children, youth and vulnerable adults.
Council Reference/Background/History:
City Council at its meeting of December 16 and 17, 1998 adopted the following motion
resolved that:
"the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism determine which staff of
the Parks and Recreation Division should have security checks and request the Toronto Police
Department to conduct these security checks immediately;
the Executive Director of Human Resources, in consultation with the Commissioner of
Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, prepare a report for the Economic
Development Committee recommending a policy regarding background security checks for all
new employees and subsequent random checks for those staff holding positions involving
contact with children and youth;
Toronto City Council request the Toronto Police Department to carry out these checks
immediately and, on a one-time basis, waive the $5.00 fee for each staff security check."
Comments:
1Conducting Police Reference Checks on Prospective Employees or
Current Employees who apply for positions.
The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) applies to the
collection, use and disclosure of police reference check information. This legislation permits
government institutions to collect personal information where there is explicit statutory
authority to do so or where the information is necessary to properly administer a lawfully
authorized activity.
Among the statutes under which the City provides service, only the Ambulance Act and the
Police Services Act provide statutory authority to collect police reference check information as
part of their respective hiring processes. Accordingly, collecting such information on other
prospective City employees would be conducted on the basis that the personal information is
necessary in order to properly administer programs and services delivered to children, youth
and/or other vulnerable populations.
The Act permits the City and the Toronto Police Service to exchange information with the
consent of the subject individual and where an agreement is in place. Appropriate forms have
been developed to obtain such consent and an offer of employment will be conditional on the
result of the police reference check. The proposed agreement establishes a mechanism for
conducting police reference checks in a manner which complies with privacy legislation.
The City does not have the explicit statutory authority required to collect police reference
check information directly from the Toronto Police Service (the "Service"). Accordingly, in
circumstances where there is a record of offense, the Service provides the record of offense to
the subject individual. It is the individual's decision whether or not to provide a copy of the
record to the City. Failure to provide a copy of the record to the City will result in withdrawal
of the conditional offer of employment.
The above noted process is predicated on the subject individual consenting to a police
reference check and providing a copy of any record of offense to the City. In the absence of
such consent, the City does not have the authority to initiate the process. Similarly, absent
consent, the Service does not have the authority to conduct a police reference check on an
individual at the request of the City.
Individuals who wish to apply for positions in the City's Parks and Recreation Division where
the primary duties involve caring for children and/or youth will be notified that a police
reference check is a requirement in the final stage of the hiring process. A choice can then be
made as to whether or not to apply. In these circumstances, a decision to apply and consent to
a police reference check is clearly voluntary. This is not the case with respect to obtaining
consent from employees who are currently working with children and/or youth.
Human resources staff are working with the departments to identify other positions throughout
the various services of the City where a police reference check is an appropriate part of the
hiring process or when accepting volunteers, including in services where employees or
volunteers are working with vulnerable adults. A policy is being developed, in consultation
with the City Solicitor, the Director of Corporate Access and Privacy and Commissioners, to
ensure practices and procedures comply with relevant legislation.
2.Fees for Police Reference Checks
The Police Services Board (the Board) considered matters relating to charging fees for police
reference checks three times in 1998. The Board reaffirmed its decision to charge fees. Costs
of providing the service are funded by fees charged. A copy of the Council resolution
requesting a waiver of fees has been forwarded to the Chief of Police. A consideration related
to requesting a waiver of fees is that there are no true savings in transferring costs from one
budget to another.
It is recommended that the cost of $40.00 plus GST be borne in equal shares by the
prospective employee and the Economic Development, Culture and Tourism department. This
will have the effect of relieving the financial burden for the department yet not discourage
individuals from applying for positions. It is felt that having the prospective employee pay the
full cost will not be financially feasible, especially for students and youths.
The cost of conducting a police reference check on volunteers is $15.00 plus GST. Given that
volunteers are not compensated for their important work, it would not be reasonable for the
City to ask volunteers to bear the cost.
Many volunteers work alongside staff and do not have unsupervised care of children and/or
youth. Accordingly, it is expected that the final number of volunteers on whom it is
appropriate to conduct a police reference check will be relatively small over the course of a
year. This report recommends the City pay the $15.00 fee so as not to discourage individuals
from becoming volunteers.
3.Conducting Police Reference Checks on Current Employees
The City has a number of staff who have been employed for many years in the primary care of
children and/or youth. For the majority, a police reference check was not a condition of the
offer of employment. The City, therefore, does not have the necessary consent to initiate a
police reference check.
Consent may be defined as voluntary agreement. The potential loss of a position unless
consent is provided would not constitute the voluntary agreement needed to conduct police
reference checks on employees who are already working directly with children and/or youth.
There is no explicit statutory authority which would permit the City to conduct police
reference checks on employees who are currently working directly with children and/or youth.
As such, staff cannot at this time respond to Council's direction related to conducting police
reference checks on current employees. A detailed examination of the legal issues and an
opinion from the City Solicitor has been requested on the issues. A further report will be
submitted by the Executive Director of Human Resources with recommendations to the
Corporate Services Committee.
Considering the requirements of privacy legislation, it may be appropriate for the province to
enact legislation to provide explicit statutory authority related to conducting police reference
checks. The forthcoming report from staff will consider if the City should seek legislation in
this respect.
For these reasons, the proposed agreement with the Toronto Police Service to conduct police
reference checks applies only to the final stage of the hiring process and as permitted under
the Municipal Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act.
Conclusion:
Approval of the recommendations in this report will permit the City to proceed in a timely
manner to implement a process for incorporating a police reference check in the City's hiring
process where the primary employment or volunteer duties require working directly with
children, youth and/or other vulnerable populations as required.
Contact Name:
Rita Reynolds
392-9683
Brenda Glover
397-9802
Joe HalsteadBrenda Glover
Commissioner of Economic Development, Executive Director of Human Resources
Culture and Tourism
Rita Reynolds
Director of Corporate Access & Privacy