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Screening:
The day NHL hockey player Sheldon Kennedy testified that his coach, Graham James, sexually abused him hundreds of times when he was a boy, is the day that screening became a reality for many organizations. Kennedy not only settled the score with his coach by agreeing to testify but his admission also signaled the end of the unspoken agreement by many victims to stay silent about abuse. This story is not limited to sport. The story of Gary Blair Walker haunts many social agencies. Walker admits to having sexually molested over 200 boys over the course of 30 years while he held a variety of positions of trust as a paid worker, and as a volunteer. He was at different times a sport coach, a police officer, a Scout master, a church camp counsellor, a school bus driver and a martial arts instructor.
In the speech from the Throne on January 18, 1994, the Government of Canada declared its commitment to combating violence against women and children. Shortly thereafter, representatives of the Departments of the Solicitor General Canada, Justice Canada, and Health Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were appointed to an Ad Hoc Interdepartmental Working Group on Information Systems on Child Sex Offenders. The Working Group's mandate was to address the following question: "How can federal and provincial information systems be strengthened to provide better information to police services and organizations conducting background checks on people seeking paid and/or volunteer work in areas where they will have direct access to children?" A series of consultations was held across Canada. Participants included representatives from provincial governments, police agencies, and public and voluntary sector organizations. The importance of appropriate and thorough screening of applicants for positions of trust with children and with other vulnerable individuals was a consistent theme of these consultations. Furthermore, the use of police information systems was clearly identified as an important screening measure, and the strengthening of such systems was encouraged.
In November 1994, the Honourable Herb Gray, Solicitor General of Canada, announced that his Department, in cooperation with Justice and Health Canada, would be taking the lead in providing public education on screening, through the National Education Campaign on Screening Volunteers and Employees in Positions of Trust with Children and Other Vulnerable Individuals, a project to be undertaken by Volunteer Canada. The overall purpose of the project was to make training and resources about screening volunteers working with at-risk populations, widely available. Since the project began a great deal has been accomplished, often in the context of unforeseen developments such as the emergence of the Sheldon Kennedy/Graham James story and the ensuing media and public interest in the issue of screening. Resources
Activities
The National Education Campaign on Screening has been a resounding success. It has provided necessary and highly regarded resources and has opened access to training and consultation on these issues to thousands of agencies in all parts of the country. The project has spun off a number of related provincial initiatives. The investment of the federal government in this project has had, and will continue to have, a direct impact on the safety and well being of children and other vulnerable people in Canada. Duty
of Care Liability
Police Records Check Position of Trust The question of whether a position of trust exists depends on the relationship and on the degree of authority, reliance and dependence in it, and not on the question of payment or salary. People may also assume positions of trust with respect to finances, rather than individuals. Standard of Care Volunteer
Vulnerable Person This is purposely a broad definition, one that can include children, youth, senior citizens, people with physical, developmental, social, emotional, or other disabilities, as well as people who are victims of crime or harm. Vulnerable person will also include people who have been victims or crime or accident, or are otherwise left with little defence against those who would harm them.
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Volunteerism in Canada
