East Ferris council voted to defeat a motion urging the province to change legislation to ban people with criminal records from running for municipal office.
“It’s so open-ended,” said Councillor Terry Kelly, referring the motion being circulated by the Township of Conmee, near Thunder Bay.
As an example, Kelly said it would include people with a record for marijuana possession from 20 years ago yet it’s legal now.
Councillor Erika Lougheed was also not in support, stating her hesitation stems from the possible “discrimination” of people who may not be able to afford to get their record expunged.
Deputy Mayor Steve Trahan moved the motion, noting it’s about getting the “right people” to run for political office. Trahan, a police officer in North Bay, said it’s similar to how sports organizations and some employers ask for criminal record checks before allowing candidates to work with minors or people from vulnerable sectors.
The Conmee motion wording states that elected officials are expected to be “above reproach and to conduct themselves with integrity, truth, justice, honesty, transparency and courtesy. AND WHEREAS there are people of dubious character who have a Criminal Record, having been convicted of a Federal Offence of any of the Federal Statutes of Canada, but not limited to the Criminal Code or Narcotic Control Act, who are currently on Council of a Municipality or have let their name stand for election for Mayor, Reeve or Councillor as a municipal candidate. NOT WITHSTANDING the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code…
“THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Township of Conmee lobby the Provincial Government to amend The Municipal Act and Municipal Elections Act, as may be, so that people with a criminal record who have not had their record cleared from the RCMP Data Base by order of the Governor General of Canada, be prohibited from becoming a candidate in municipal elections. AND THAT an elected local government official be disqualified from office upon conviction of a serious criminal offense and must resign …”
Mayor Pauline Rochefort noted there was discussion about this sort of thing back when the late Rob Ford was mayor of Toronto but nothing moved forward.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission states on its website, for employment purposes, “…, a person cannot be discriminated against in employment because of a “record of offences.” Employment decisions cannot be based on whether a person has been convicted and pardoned for an offence under a federal law, such as the Criminal Code, or convicted under a provincial law, such as the Highway Traffic Act. This provision applies to convictions only, and not to situations where charges only have been laid.
Employers must look at a person’s record of offences and consider whether the offence would have a real effect on the person’s ability to do the job and risk associated with them doing it. Employers can refuse to hire someone based on a record of offences only if they can show this is a reasonable and bona fide qualification.
Examples of this might be:
- A bus driver with serious or repeated driving convictions
- A daycare worker who works alone with children who is convicted of child sexual abuse in a daycare setting.
Dave Dale is a Local Journalism Reporter with BayToday.ca. LJI is funded by the Government of Canada.
