O. Reg. 310/24: GENERAL

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ontario regulation 310/24

made under the

Intercountry Adoption Act, 1998

Made: July 25, 2024
Filed: July 29, 2024
Published on e-Laws: July 29, 2024
Published in The Ontario Gazette: August 17, 2024

Amending O. Reg. 200/99

(GENERAL)

1. (1) Section 14 of Ontario Regulation 200/99 is revoked and the following substituted:

Police Record Checks

Interpretation

14. (1) In this section and in sections 15 to 27,

“adoption practitioner” means a person who,

(a)  visits the home of a prospective adoptive parent in order to make or prepare a report of an adoption homestudy and to make or prepare a progress report or a follow-up report, and

(b)  makes supervisory visits to the home of a prospective adoptive parent where a child has been placed for an adoption probationary period; (“intervenant en adoption”)

“offence declaration” means a declaration that meets the requirements set out in subsection 24 (1); (“déclaration d’infraction”)

“police record check” means a vulnerable sector check or a broad record check. (“vérification du dossier de police”)

(2) For the purposes of this section and sections 15 to 27, a person has a professional affiliation with a licensee if the person,

(a)  is an employee of the licensee;

(b)  volunteers with the licensee;

(c)  is under contract, respecting the facilitation of an intercountry adoption, with the licensee or provides services under that contract;

(d)  is a member of the board of directors of the licensee, in the case of a licensee that is a corporation; or

(e)  is a student on a placement with the licensee.

Contents and rules re vulnerable sector checks

15. A vulnerable sector check in respect of a person is deemed to be a vulnerable sector check referred to in paragraph 3 of subsection 8 (1) of the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015 and shall include the information that is authorized to be disclosed in a vulnerable sector check pursuant to the Table to that Act.

Contents and rules re broad record checks

16. (1) A broad record check in respect of a person shall include written information prepared by a police record check provider, within the meaning of the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, based on information available to the police record check provider at the time the check is prepared, respecting the particulars of,

(a)  every criminal offence of which the person has been convicted, except in respect of which a pardon has been issued or granted under the Criminal Records Act (Canada);

(b)  despite clause (a), any conviction for which a pardon has been granted where disclosure is authorized under the Criminal Records Act (Canada);

(c)  every criminal offence of which the person has been found guilty and has been discharged, except an offence in respect of which the Criminal Records Act (Canada) requires that the record be purged;

(d)  every finding of guilt under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada) in respect of the person during the applicable period of access under that Act;

(e)  every outstanding order of a judge or justice of the peace made against the person in respect of a criminal matter, including a probation order, prohibition order or warrant;

(f)  every outstanding restraining order made against the person under section 35 of the Children’s Law Reform Act, section 46 of the Family Law Act or section 137 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, or any predecessors of those sections;

(g)  every outstanding criminal charge against the person;

(h)  every criminal charge against the person that,

(i)  resulted in a finding of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder,

(ii)  resulted in a stay of proceedings,

(iii)  was dismissed by the court, or

(iv)  was withdrawn by the Crown;

(i)  every contact between the person and a police service for which the police service has a written record, unless,

(i)  disclosing the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with a law enforcement matter,

(ii)  a police service has not made the person aware of the contact,

(iii)  the person was a minor at the time of the contact, or

(iv)  the information is not relevant to the person’s suitability to perform caregiving duties for a child or to reside in a place where a child is residing and receiving care; and

(j)  every contact between the person and a police service in relation to actions taken against the person under the Mental Health Act because of a determination under that Act that the person was suffering, or apparently suffering, from a mental disorder of a nature or quality that would likely result in serious bodily harm to the person or to another person or in serious physical impairment of the person.

(2) For greater certainty, nothing in this Regulation permits or requires the disclosure of information if the disclosure is prohibited under the Criminal Code (Canada), the Criminal Records Act (Canada), the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada) or any other law of Canada.

Vulnerable sector checks

17. A person referred to in Column 1 of the Table to this section shall, if they are 18 or older, provide a vulnerable sector check to the recipient set out opposite in Column 2 at the time set out opposite in Column 3 and in accordance with sections 14 to 27.

Table
Vulnerable Sector Checks

Item	Column 1 Person to provide vulnerable sector check	Column 2 Recipient	Column 3 Timing
1.	Unless required to provide a broad record check under section 18, the officers and directors of a corporation that holds a licence under section 8 of the Act to facilitate intercountry adoptions	A Director	In accordance with subsections 19 (1) and (4)
2.	The officers and directors of a corporation applying for a licence under section 8 of the Act to facilitate intercountry adoptions	A Director	In accordance with subsection 19 (3)
3.	An adoption practitioner	A Director	In accordance with subsection 19 (1)
4.	A person applying to be an adoption practitioner	A Director	In accordance with subsection 19 (3)
5.	A person who is undergoing training to become an adoption practitioner	A Director	In accordance with subsections 19 (1) and (5)
6.	Unless required to provide a broad record check under section 18, a person who has a professional affiliation with a licensee and because of the professional affiliation may interact, without supervision, with a child receiving a service provided by the licensee	Licensee	In accordance with subsections 19 (1) and (2)
7.	A person applying for a professional affiliation referred to in item 6	Licensee	In accordance with subsection 19 (3)
8.	A person who holds a licence under section 8 of the Act to facilitate intercountry adoptions	A Director	In accordance with subsection 19 (1)
9.	A person applying for a licence referred to in item 8	A Director	In accordance with subsection 19 (3)

 

Broad record checks

18. A person referred to in Column 1 of the Table to this section shall, if they are 18 or older, provide a broad record check to the recipient set out opposite in Column 2 at the time set out opposite in Column 3 and in accordance with sections 14 to 27.

Table
Broad Record Checks

Item	Column 1 Person to provide broad record check	Column 2 Recipient	Column 3 Timing
1.	A prospective adoptive parent habitually resident in Ontario who seeks to adopt a child who is habitually resident in another country	Adoption practitioner	In accordance with subsection 19 (6)
2.	A person who resides with a person referred to in item 1	Adoption practitioner	In accordance with subsections 19 (2) and (6)
3.	A licensee, an officer or director of a corporation that holds a licence under section 8 of the Act to facilitate intercountry adoptions or a person delegated by a licensee who may have unsupervised interaction with a child	A Director	In accordance with subsections 19 (1) and (7)

 

Timing and frequency

19. (1) A person referred to in item 1, 3, 5 6 or 8 of the Table to section 17 or item 3 of the Table to section 18 shall provide the relevant police record check at least every three years after they provided the last police record check.

(2) Within 30 days of turning 18, a person referred to in item 6 of the Table to section 17 or item 2 of the Table to section 18 shall request the relevant police record check and provide it as soon as reasonably possible after receiving the record.

(3) A person referred to in item 2, 4, 7 or 9 of the Table to section 17 shall provide the vulnerable sector check in their application.

(4) A person referred to in item 1 of the Table to section 17 shall, within 15 days of being appointed as an officer or joining the board of the corporation,

(a)  provide the Director with the vulnerable sector check; or

(b)  confirm to the Director that they have requested the vulnerable sector check and provide it to the Director as soon as possible after the person receives it.

(5) A person referred to in item 5 of the Table to section 17 shall provide the vulnerable sector check as soon as possible after being accepted to the Ministry’s mentorship program for new adoption practitioners.

(6) A person referred to in item 1 or 2 of the Table to section 18 shall provide the broad record check,

(a)  during an adoption homestudy assessment;

(b)  during any required update to the homestudy assessment, unless the person provided a broad record check during an adoption homestudy assessment during the previous three years; and

(c)  every three years since the last broad record check was provided until the adoption is completed or the person ceases to pursue an intercountry adoption.

(7) A person referred to in item 3 of the Table to section 18 shall provide the broad record check before the person has an unsupervised interaction with a child.

No duplication of obligations

20. A person who is referred to in more than one item in the Table to section 17 or 18 is not required to provide an additional police record check if they have provided a record check of the same type to the same recipient within the last three years.

Validity of police record check

21. The requirement for a person to provide a police record check is satisfied if the person provides original copies of the record that were,

(a)  prepared by a police record check provider, within the meaning of the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015, based on information available to the police record check provider at the time the police record check is prepared; and

(b)  issued by a police record check provider within the last six months.

Statement re relevance

22. When providing a police record check, the person may also include a written statement about whether, in their opinion, the contents of the record are relevant to the position or role that the person holds or seeks to hold.

Recipient documents

23. Every recipient listed in Column 2 of the Table to section 17 or Column 2 of the Table to section 18 shall have written documents setting out the following information and shall make the written documents available to any person who could be required to provide the recipient with a police record check:

1.  The process for obtaining a police record check.

2.  The process for submitting an offence declaration.

3.  The recipient’s polies and procedures with respect to the measures to be followed to keep police record checks and offence declarations confidential and secure, including policies and procedures regarding the retention, transfer and disposal of records and declarations.

4.  Information about the right of a person who provides a police record check to provide a written statement about whether, in their opinion, the contents of the record are relevant to the position or role that the person holds or seeks to hold.

5.  The recipient’s policies and procedures with respect to the way information included in a police record check, statement of relevance or offence declaration may be considered and used by the recipient.

6.  The recipient’s polices and procedures with respect to the measures to be followed to ensure the protection of children who interact with a person required to provide a police record check under this Regulation until the record check is received.

Offence declarations

24. (1) A person making an offence declaration shall ensure that the offence declaration meets the following requirements:

1.  The offence declaration shall be in writing and shall be signed by the person making the declaration.

2.  The offence declaration shall indicate the period of time to which it pertains.

3.  The offence declaration shall list, with respect to the period of time specified,

i.  all of the person’s convictions for offences under the Criminal Code (Canada), and

ii.  every criminal offence for which there is an outstanding charge or warrant to arrest in respect of the person.

(2) When providing the relevant police record check, the person providing the check shall also provide an offence declaration that addresses the period since the day on which the person requested the police record check.

(3) A person who is required to provide a police record check every three years shall, in a year in which they are not required to provide a record check, provide an offence declaration no later than 15 days after the anniversary of the day on which the person last provided an offence declaration or police record check, and the offence declaration shall address the period since the previous offence declaration or police record check was provided.

(4) A person required to provide a police record check who does not receive the police record within six months of the day on which they requested it shall provide an offence declaration within 15 days after that six-month period.

Notice of charge or conviction

25. A person required to provide a police record check under section 17 or 18 shall, as soon as possible after being charged with or convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code (Canada), provide a written and signed notice informing the relevant recipient of the charge or conviction.

Break in professional affiliation

26. (1) If there is a break in the professional affiliation between a person and the licensee with whom they have a professional affiliation, the following rules apply:

1.  In the case of a break that is 12 months or less, the person shall provide the licensee with any police record check or offence declaration the person would have been required to provide had the break not occurred.

2.  In the case of a break that is longer than 12 months, the person shall provide the licensee with the relevant police record check and offence declaration even if the police record check or offence declaration would not be required had the break not occurred.

(2) A person referred to in subsection (1) who is required to provide a police record check or offence declaration shall,

(a)  request any police record check and provide any required offence declaration before interacting, without supervision, with a child or young person and

(b)  provide the police record check to the licensee as soon as possible after they receive it.

Transition

27. (1) In this section,

“transition day” means the day section 1 of Ontario Regulation 310/24 comes into force.

(2) A person who is required to provide a police record check under this Regulation shall do so at the following times:

1.  If the person provided the required type of police record check to the required recipient before transition day and the record check was issued within three years of transition day, the person shall provide a new record check within three years of the day the previous record check was issued.

2.  If the person has not provided the required type of police record check to the required recipient within three years before transition day or the police record check was issued more than three years before transition day, the person shall request the required check within 60 days of transition day and provide it as soon as possible after they receive it.

(2) Clause 16 (1) (f) of the Regulation, as made by subsection (1), is amended by adding “or 279.3” after “section 137”.

Commencement

2. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this Regulation comes into force on the day it is filed.

(2) Subsection 1 (1) comes into force on the later of January 1, 2025 and the day this Regulation is filed.

(3) Subsection 1 (2) comes into force on the latest of January 1, 2025, the day section 23 of the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024 comes into force and the day this Regulations is filed.

 

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