Council passes Candidate Criminal Record Check Bylaw for future municipal elections in North Battleford

North Battleford City Council passed a new bylaw, Bylaw No. 2162, during Monday’s Council Meeting requiring all candidates in future municipal elections to provide a current Criminal Record Check (CRC) and, if candidates so choose, a Vulnerable Sector (VS) Check to the Returning Officer as part of their election nomination papers.           

The Cities Regulations, under The Cities Act, defines “current” Criminal Record Checks, for the purposes of municipal elections, as documentation being obtained from RCMP within the 30 days in advance of Nomination Day. In the 2024 Municipal Election, this means the candidates’ record checks must be completed not more than 30 days before October 9, 2024. 

A candidate’s CRC and, if included, a VS Check, will be posted publicly with the nomination papers after the withdrawal deadline passes for candidates, on October 10, 2024, at 4pm. Nomination papers are posted publicly accordance with The Local Government Election Act. The CRC will not disclose details about any convictions or offenses which are found on a candidate’s record check; only whether or not a criminal record exists. If a criminal record exists, a candidate can decide if they would like to address this publicly or not, keeping in mind that this information is a matter of public record and can be requested at the local courthouse   

The local RCMP Detachment requires five business days to process all CRCs and VS Checks and the fee for this service, at the candidate’s expense, is $35.    

Additional information about the 2024 Municipal Election in North Battleford will be available at the end of this week on the City’s website. Any questions may be submitted to the Returning Officer at elections@cityofnb.ca. Municipal elections in Saskatchewan take place on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.      

            
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For more information:
Candace Toma, Public & Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator
306-441-0713 | publicrelations@cityofnb.ca