Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association Criminal Record Check Policy
All individuals applying for or holding the title of coach, assistant coach, safety person, trainer, manager, and anyone else determined by the enclosed Risk Assessment shall be subject to Criminal Record Checks, which include the Vulnerable Sector Screening and a search of the National Sex Offender Registry.
Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association (“CMHA”) does not discriminate against any person on the basis of the race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, or age, unless there is a bona fide reason related essentially and explicitly to the position being applied for, and will do so with due consideration for the need to accommodate applicants where possible.
It is the obligation of any person required to produce a Criminal Record Check (“CR Check”) by virtue of this policy to complete the CR Check and to ensure the results are submitted to the Risk Manager of CMHA no later than September 1st if that person is a new applicant, or if two (2) years has passed since submitting a CRC to the Association.
It is the obligation of the applicant to inform the appointed Risk Manager in writing if he or she is charged, tried, or convicted of any offence under the Criminal Code, or under other provincial or federal statutes before and during his or her association with CMHA.
Failure to submit the required CRC within the framework set out in this policy may, at the discretion of the Risk Manager, result in the individual being deemed ineligible to hold the above positions and being suspended or terminated from the position without prior notice.
Individuals with outstanding Criminal Code convictions listed below or who have been charged with such offences that have not yet gone to trial but which continue to be prosecuted, shall not be eligible to hold the above positions or other CMHA positions determined by the Risk Assessment. These offences include, but are not limited to, the following:
Offences which may deem the Individual ineligible to participate in any capacity as determined by the Risk Management Assessment:
- Assault with a Weapon;
- Assault Causing Bodily Harm;
- Aggravated Assault;
- Sexual Assault;
- Sexual Interference;
- Sexual Exploitation;
- Invitation to Sexual Touching;
- Making, distributing, or possessing child pornography;
- Current prohibitions or probation orders forbidding the individual to have contact with children under the age of 14;
- Indictable criminal offences for child abuse;
- Luring a Child;
- Voyeurism;
- Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking;
- Production of a Substance (as defined in the Controlled Drug and Substance Act [C.D.S.A.]);
- Robbery; and
- Any other offences pertaining to violence, whether or not involving weapons.
Offences for which disqualification from participation is to be determined by the CMHA exclusion policy or as noted:
- Assault;
- Threatening;
- Possession of a Substance (as defined in the Controlled Drug and Substance Act [C.D.S.A.]);
- Impaired Driving (while Driver’s License is suspended);
- Theft, Fraud, and Related Offence (while in a Position of Trust);
- Convictions pertaining to illegal substances, other than for manufacture and/or trafficking;
- Firearm Related Offences (other than use of firearm in the commission of an offence).
It is the obligation of any person required to produce a CR Check by virtue of this Policy (an “Obligated Person”) to advise the appointed Risk Manager responsible for CR Checks of a charge or conviction under any offence listed in this Policy.
The CMHA Executive may, from time to time, determine an acceptable period of exclusion time (minimum of 3, 5, or 10 years depending on the offence) after which an applicant with an unsatisfactory CR Check may apply to be a team official with CMHA. The exclusion of time commences at the expiration of the penalty imposed by the Courts, not the date of the charge or conviction.
When a criminal record may exist, it is also the obligation of an Obligated Person to immediately complete and submit to the Risk Manager a Criminal Record Declaration contained herein. Additionally, this will include all information related to non convictions and all charges regardless of disposition. Failure to provide the enclosed Declaration within 30 days of the Association’s request to do so will result in automatic disqualification of the individual, and his or her inability to participate as a team official.
CMHA shall appoint an individual, usually the Risk Manager to be responsible for the collection and retention of CR Checks, which must be under the Risk Manager or appointed individual’s control and secured in a safe storage area separate from CMHA files. The Risk Manager or appointed individual must keep the CR Check and all related information strictly confidential.
Applicants may be rejected as a result of other information gained during the CR Check process or through the screening process as a whole, or as a consequence of other factors. The applicant has the right to know why he or she is being refused, and may appeal to the CMHA Executive in writing for a review of their record.