Picture it: you have the perfect person to hire. You run the
background check, and discover a criminal conviction. You are
inclined to withdraw the offer, but suddenly you are faced with the
question: can I do it?
The answer will depend on which province you are in. Below is a
summary of the human rights implications of asking about criminal
convictions in Ontario, BC, Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan. In
addition to the human rights implications, an employer will also
have to consider privacy rights in proceeding.
Ontario
In Ontario, there is no protection for applicants for employment
against differential treatment based on a conviction, unless the
conviction is for (i) a provincial offence or, (ii) in the event of
a criminal offence, a pardon has been obtained. This occurs because
although the Ontario Human Rights Code does provide
protection from differential treatment based on a "record of
offences", it defines "record of offences" as
follows:
