NORTH BATTLEFORD — The North Battleford City Council has approved a new bylaw June 24, mandating that candidates for mayor or councillor positions in future municipal elections must provide current Criminal Record Checks (CRC) and Vulnerable Sector (VS) Checks as part of their nomination papers.
This decision, passed during Monday’s council meeting, reinforced the city's commitment to transparency and public trust in local governance.
According to The Cities Regulations under The Cities Act, CRCs and VS checks must be obtained from the RCMP no more than 30 days before nomination day. For the upcoming 2024 municipal election, this deadline falls on Oct. 9, 2024.
While the CRC and VS Check results will be made public after the withdrawal deadline for candidates on Oct. 10 they will indicate only the presence of a criminal record without specifying details such as convictions or offences, the city says.
Candidates with such records have the option to address this information publicly, as it becomes a matter of public record accessible at the local courthouse.
Processing of these checks by the local RCMP detachment requires five business days and incurs a fee of $35, borne by the candidates.
