色色啦

Police services in Ontario say they were not consulted on the legislative changes, which came into force on Jan. 1.

The law now requires anyone working with kids under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act to obtain a broad record check聽鈥� a more extensive background search than previously mandated. Under the new check, law enforcement agencies must disclose 鈥渆very contact between the person and a police service for which there is a written record,鈥� which could include mental health crisis calls and non-criminal police encounters, such as noise complaints or 911 calls by victims of domestic violence.

Internal government memos reviewed by the Star and interviews with more than a dozen child welfare leaders, police officers, program operators and families pursuing adoption paint a picture of a haphazard rollout and a system that wasn鈥檛 prepared to implement the police check.

Some police services, including 色色啦 and Ottawa, are declining to issue the broad record checks while they seek guidance from police advocacy groups and legal advisers.

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, which represents the province鈥檚 police leaders, was not consulted on the changes before they came into force, a spokesperson told the Star. Jos茅 Lu铆s Couto said police services have had concerns with how the new provisions may be in conflict with federal legislation, including the Criminal Records Act.聽

Couto said guidelines, developed with police legal advisers and experts on record checks, were sent Friday to police forces to help them develop their own policies and procedures around broad record checks.聽The association could not say how many police services in Ontario were not issuing broad record checks.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General contradicted law enforcement agencies, saying the government did consult with police and the child welfare sector prior to making the change. The consultations included 鈥渢wo dedicated information sessions for police services鈥� and information in an all-chiefs memo, Maher Abdurahman said, adding the legislation making the change was passed unanimously.聽

Abdurahman said the broad background search, now required 鈥渇or those seeking employment, caregiving or volunteer roles involving direct trust or authority鈥� over children and youth under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act or the Intercountry Adoption Act, is 鈥渘ot a new type of police record check.鈥�

But this clashes with the internal messaging of the provincial ministry that requires the broad checks under the legislative change. In documents reviewed by the Star, the ministry of children, community and social services describes them as 鈥渘ew police record check requirements.鈥� That ministry did not respond to questions for this story.

Under the updated legislation, all interactions with police must be disclosed unless the information is 鈥渘ot relevant to the person鈥檚 suitability to perform caregiving duties for a child鈥澛犫�� a clause that leaves it up to individual police forces to decide what information to release, leaving room for inconsistent interpretation across the province.

Robert Lefebvre, who administers the background check unit at the Ottawa Police Service, said the new legislative requirements came as a surprise to him and most police forces in Ontario and seemed to be in conflict with the Police Record Checks Reform Act, which prevents police from disclosing mental health-related encounters and some other types of interactions with law enforcement that did not result in a criminal charge.

After reviewing the updated legislation, Lefebvre鈥檚 office advised the local CAS and provincial government representatives that it would not be accepting applications while the office consulted with legal advisers and the police chiefs association.

鈥淲e鈥檙e committed to ensuring the process is interpreted correctly 鈥� not just from a policing perspective, but in a manner that maintains public trust, protects individual rights and preserves the integrity of Ontario鈥檚 background screening process,鈥� Lefebvre said.

色色啦 police spokesperson Stephanie Sayers confirmed the force is accepting applications for broad record checks but is not completing them yet. 鈥淭here is a need for greater clarity and guidance on the criteria we are now expected to apply,鈥� she said.

For Elaine, a prospective adoptive parent in southern Ontario,聽the rollout of the new legislation threatened her adoption of two siblings through CAS after her hometown police service said it was not issuing broad record checks while awaiting guidance. To comply with privacy laws, the Star is using Elaine’s middle name and withholding identifying details.

鈥淚 was told I couldn鈥檛 move forward without it,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat was I going to say to these two kids?鈥�

CAS notified Elaine of the siblings last September, she met them in April and in May they had overnight visits at her home. In June, one week before the siblings were to be permanently placed in her care, Elaine said the CAS legal department revoked her overnight visits because she did not have a broad record check. The siblings were only allowed day visits and remained in foster care, which Elaine said created further confusion and trauma for the children.

Elaine said she refused to accept the delay and lobbied her local MPP and Michael Parsa, the minister of children, community and social services, for help. She said both officials stepped in and the CAS has now accepted a vulnerable sector check聽鈥� the background search previously mandated by the government.

While she understands the goal of the new safety check, Elaine said she is angry the confusion around its implementation is hindering adoptions.

鈥淲hy have this check if you can鈥檛 get it done?鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hurting children looking for a place to call home.鈥�

The Ontario Provincial Police is among the forces that is issuing broad record checks, saying in a statement that it began processing them on Jan. 1,聽鈥渨ith mandatory fingerprinting.鈥� OPP spokesperson Gosia Puzio聽said a broad record check is a term introduced by the government聽and it’s exempt from the Police Record Checks Reform Act.

Puzio said the OPP has had challenges with the rollout of broad record checks, such as having to conduct more complex reviews, manage a high volume of requests and address delays when co-ordinating with other police services.

A January聽memo from the Ontario Association of Children鈥檚 Aid Societies, which represents most of the province鈥檚 child welfare agencies, says the record check could conflict with human rights and privacy laws, and that the government did not give direction on how to handle or store the personal information obtained. The memo, obtained by the Star, says the government did not provide clarity on how to factor the information received through a broad record check into hiring decisions.

The OACAS did not respond to questions for this story.

Howard Sapers, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said there is no evidence to support the need for a deeper police background check, especially the inclusion of an individual鈥檚 interaction with police under the Mental Health Act. He said the disclosure of personal health information opens the door to discrimination.

鈥淭he fact that somebody may have been subject to an intervention under the Mental Health Act should not automatically become a barrier to employment,鈥� Sapers said.

It鈥檚 also unclear whether organizations and employers would have appropriate policies and secure systems to collect, store and use information disclosed in a broad record check, Sapers said. These guardrails must be in place, he said, to make sure that the collected information is not misused, and that it doesn鈥檛 result in discrimination.