Ontario advocates launch employment toolkit, say criminal records 'shouldn't act as a life sentence'
‘The criminal record is only a partial statement of who a person is,’ policy expert says
Research shows a criminal record can be a non-starter for many Canadian employers, which is why an Ontario non-profit is launching a toolkit and free training to help people with a criminal past find work.
The John Howard Society of Ontario, a non-profit agency that advocates for humane responses to crime and its causes, has just released the "Fair Chances Developer Toolkit."
The toolkit promotes "fair chance hiring," including tools to help job developers advocate for people with criminal records as viable employees, and dispels myths and misconceptions employers may have.
Nearly four million Canadians have a criminal record, according to a federal government estimate. Accessing that talent pool could be an economic boon, as well as a way to help people rebuild their lives, says Aileen Simon, education and strategic initiatives coordinator at the John Howard Society of Ontario.
"Once someone's served their time, it's in everyone's best interest for them to be able to get back up on their feet," Simon said.
But many Canadian companies are unwilling to hire people with criminal records, according to a report commissioned by the John Howard Society last year.
Three-quarters of the 400 hiring managers interviewed for the report said they had never knowingly employed anyone with a criminal record.
"It really does require very specific tools and resources to appropriately address the concerns that employers have," Simon said.
"We really hope that this toolkit can be a part of that."
The new toolkit coaches job developers on the best ways to pitch clients with criminal records as job candidates. It offers guidelines on how to disclose an applicant's criminal record so it doesn't overshadow their qualifications, how to respond to common employer objections and how to tailor job searches to accommodate bail and parole conditions.
A person's past crimes often aren't an indicator of their future job performance, Simon said, and the toolkit shows ways to explain this to prospective employers.
"If someone's being hired as a bus driver, then having an impaired driving charge might be particularly relevant," she said. "But if they spray-painted a wall when they were 18, that might be a little less relevant."
Refusing to hire someone on the basis they have a criminal record is not considered discrimination under the province's Human Rights Code — even if the record is unrelated to their job duties.
In general, people with criminal records also have lower job turnover, equal or better job performance and no higher risk of workplace misconduct than employees without a record, according to research cited in the 2024 report.
"We just ask that there be a more fair assessment of that candidate outside of that criminal record, outside of that one moment in time. It shouldn't act as a life sentence for them," Simon said.
Educating employers is key: expert
Governments should "humanize" criminal records, allowing people to include positive information about their experience with the justice system, says Renze Nauta, program director for work and economics at Cardus, a non-partisan think tank in Ontario.
He says the key to opening barriers isn't ignoring a person's criminal record, but giving employers a fuller picture of the candidate. That's why he wants to see criminal records include positive aspects of a person's experience with the justice system.
"It would include a certain record of behaviour that they had when they were in prison or on parole," Nauta said, highlighting things like skills training, addictions treatment and work-release programs.
"The criminal record is only a partial statement of who a person is," he said.
The Ontario government has made people with criminal records a priority of its skills development fund, announcing $12 million in 2023 to train people with a record for skilled work. The province announced an additional $160 million in spending on the fund later that year, with a portion intended to help people with prior criminal records "find meaningful employment," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour said in an email.
Nauta said that training is a good step, but it's equally important that employers be open to hiring someone despite their criminal background.
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