Bill 15 explained in plain English
Helping Volunteers Give Back Act, 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Helping Volunteers Give Back Act, 2016, aims to promote volunteerism by limiting the frequency and cost of criminal record checks for volunteers, while maintaining public safety.
The Helping Volunteers Give Back Act, 2016, aims to make it easier for volunteers to get criminal record checks and reduces the number of times organizations can ask for them. The Act does not apply to municipalities where police forces do not charge a fee for these checks. Organizations cannot ask for a criminal record check as a condition of starting volunteer work if the volunteer provides a recent check (less than one year old and the most recent one they have). However, organizations can ask for notice of pending criminal proceedings and their outcomes. After a volunteer starts, organizations can only ask for a new check yearly, unless they have reason to believe a new conviction has been added to the volunteer's record. Police forces are required to provide up to five extra copies of a criminal record check to the volunteer at no extra cost when they release the original check.
- Limits the ability of organizations to require criminal record checks from volunteers.
- Establishes rules for when organizations can request criminal record checks, both at the start and during volunteer service.
- Allows organizations to request notice of pending criminal proceedings and their outcomes from volunteers.
- Requires police forces to provide additional copies of criminal record checks to volunteers at no extra charge.
- Specifies conditions under which the Act does not apply.
- Allows for regulations to be made regarding criminal record checks and compliance timelines.
- Organizations that retain the services of volunteers.
- Volunteers.
- Police forces.
- Municipalities.
- Organizations are prohibited from requiring a criminal record check as a condition of starting volunteer work if a recent (less than one year old and the most recent) check is provided.
- Organizations may require volunteers to provide notice of pending criminal proceedings that could result in a conviction added to their record, and the final disposition of those proceedings.
- Organizations can request a new criminal record check annually after a volunteer starts work.
- Organizations can request a criminal record check at any time if they have reasonable grounds to believe a conviction has been added to the volunteer's record since the last check.
- Police forces must provide up to five additional original copies of a criminal record check to a volunteer at no extra charge upon request.
- The Act does not apply in municipalities where police forces charge no fee for releasing criminal record checks for volunteers.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Police forces are required to provide up to five additional original copies of a criminal record check to a volunteer at no additional charge.
- The Act does not apply in municipalities where police forces do not charge a fee for releasing a criminal record check for a volunteer.
- The Act does not specify what constitutes 'reasonable grounds to believe' for an organization to request a criminal record check outside the usual intervals.
- The Act allows for regulations to specify 'circumstances prescribed by the regulations' under which an organization may require a criminal record check at any time.
- The Act's application is limited to municipalities where police forces charge a fee for releasing criminal record checks for volunteers.
This bill creates a new Act titled the Helping Volunteers Give Back Act, 2016, which sets out rules regarding criminal record checks for volunteers.
Source: Bill 15, Section 8
The Act refers to 'criminal record' which is defined in relation to offences under the Criminal Code (Canada).
Source: Bill 15, Section 2
The Act refers to 'criminal record' which is defined in relation to offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada).
Source: Bill 15, Section 2
The Act refers to 'criminal record' which is defined in relation to pardons under the Criminal Records Act (Canada).
Source: Bill 15, Section 2
The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing aspects of the Act and specifying time periods for compliance.
Source: Bill 15, Section 6
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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