Criminal Records in Canada – 3 Things You Need To Know
- In this article, I cover 3 things you need to know about criminal records in Canada.
1/ What is a criminal record in Canada?- In Canada, a criminal record is a record of someone’s involvement with the criminal justice system that begins with the Police.
- If you were charged under the Criminal Code of Canada, you will have a criminal record in the Canadian Police Information Centre database, referred to as the CPIC database.
- This CPIC database is managed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, known as the RCMP.
- When someone conducts a criminal background check, that check will search the RCMP’s CPIC database.
- If you were convicted of a criminal charge, that conviction will show up on your background check. The only way to remove that conviction is to get a Pardon, now called a Record Suspension.
- If you were charged but not convicted, you still have a criminal record that will show up on a background check in Canada. You need to get a File Destruction to remove traces of your criminal charge from the CPIC database.
2/ How do you know if you have a criminal record in Canada?- Most people know you have a criminal record if you were convicted of a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada.
- But most people don’t know that you will have a criminal record in 4 other situations
- 1 – If you were charged under the Criminal Code of Canada but not convicted, you have a criminal record;
- 2 – If the Police fingerprinted you, you have a criminal record;
- 3 – If you were not fingerprinted but charged under the Criminal Code of Canada, you have a criminal record; and
- 4 – If you were a suspect in a criminal investigation, your name and date of birth would be kept in Police files called incident reports. Even if criminal charges were not filed, a police record search would disclose that you were involved in a criminal investigation.
3/ Are Criminal Records public in Canada?- Generally no, your criminal record is not public in Canada.
- There are some exceptions in the context of other laws, for example, regulating firearms and protecting children.
- In Ontario, access to your criminal record is covered by the Police Record Checks Reform Act.
- The law states that access to your criminal record is prohibited unless you give written consent.
- For example, most jobs, promotions or volunteer work require you to be subject to a criminal record background check.
- As part of the application process, your prospective employer or volunteer organization will require you to consent to a criminal background check.
- Most people know you have a criminal record if you were convicted of a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada.
- But most people don’t know that you will have a criminal record in 4 other situations
- 1 – If you were charged under the Criminal Code of Canada but not convicted, you have a criminal record;
- 2 – If the Police fingerprinted you, you have a criminal record;
- 3 – If you were not fingerprinted but charged under the Criminal Code of Canada, you have a criminal record; and
- 4 – If you were a suspect in a criminal investigation, your name and date of birth would be kept in Police files called incident reports. Even if criminal charges were not filed, a police record search would disclose that you were involved in a criminal investigation.
