Concerns raised over mental health information in police record checks

British Columbian information and privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham has requested public input in the issue of what she sees as an increase in employers asking for police background checks on new employees and getting some personal information in return.

According to Denham, in some cases the information recorded on the background check goes beyond simple records of previous convictions and includes other instances where an individual has had police interaction, most notably in cases of attempted suicide.

“One individual had had a mental health apprehension—a suicide attempt—and when she tried to find a job doing regular office work, what came back was ‘suicide attempt’ written on the bottom of the police information check,” said Denham in an interview with CBC Radio.

“She’s been unable to get the job, so my concern is that this kind of stigma is following individuals and is going to frustrate them in their ability to find employment.”

Health information disclosure to employers is not required in Canada except in very specific circumstances, making the inclusion of incidents such as suicide attempts on police records especially problematic, given their link to mental illness.

According to a Jan. 15 report to the Vancouver Police Board, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) provided 15,825 police information checks in 2013, of which 49 included information on individuals’ mental health.
However, the report also notes, “the VPD does not take lightly the disclosure of an incident with a mental health element,” and that, “release of this information is limited to serious incidents that reflect a tenor of violence.”

It further stipulates that a disclosure period of five years has been adopted, at which point the incident would be struck from the record released. Suicide attempts and threats have a one-year disclosure period.
The checks do report incidents where no charges have been laid, in addition to any warrants for an individual’s arrest, and information regarding an individual’s involvement with the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Squabble over smudging

Brandon teenager Stephen Bunn has found himself at the centre of a debate in his school division regarding the traditional Aboriginal practice of smudging, after being sent to the principal’s office on two occasions by teachers who thought that the lingering smell violated the district’s scent- and fragrance-free policy.

Bunn, an 11th-grade student at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School, said that in the past, teachers had stopped him to ask if he had smoked an illegal substance.

Bunn said he tried to explain the source of the scent, which comes from the burning of dried sage leaves as a ritualistic means of cleansing and bringing clarity to one’s body and mind.

Smudging is also part of a traditional First Nations healing process, one that has become particularly significant to Bunn and his family since the death of his 15-year-old brother, who committed suicide last June.

“It actually helps me feel more confident about my day,” he said in an interview with CTV News.

“It just gives me an idea that my brother is around and he’s taking care of me from up there.”

The Brandon School District (BSD) has declined to give any interviews on the topic, but in an emailed press release stated that while the scent-free policy is still in place, “procedures around implementation of that policy are still being developed.”

BSD further said that it would work alongside an Aboriginal elder “with staff, students, and families who observe the practice [of smudging] to ensure that [it] is carried out in such a way as to minimize any discomfort for students and staff within its schools.”

NDP losing its grip on voters

After years of NDP control in Manitoba, it seems that the party might be losing its hold on the province, according to polls and results of two recent by-elections.

Surveys conducted in December showed the New Democrats as having the support of only 26 per cent of constituents province-wide compared to the 40 per cent approval rating of the Progressive Conservatives. In Winnipeg, numbers were not much better, with the NDP holding a 29 per cent approval rating compared to the Conservatives’ 41 per cent.

In the past two weeks, the Morris and Arthur-Virden regions’ by-elections have resulted in disappointment for the party, their candidates receiving only 12.9 and 10.4 per cent of votes, respectively.

In addition to those losses, a Probe Research poll projects the Manitoba NDP to further lose the Dauphin and Brandon East ridings, both of which have been NDP territory for decades.

The next Manitoba election is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2015.