Having an active criminal record can make it hard to find employment. Even if you are self-employed, criminal records can be limiting. This is especially true for employment that requires professional licensing.

Which jobs require licences?

Formal permits are required to operate various trades within many Canadian territories. Some of these businesses include:

⦾ Auctioneers

⦾ Building renovators

⦾ Transportation services

⦾ Retail stores that sell food

⦾ Parlors, salons, and other body services

Obtaining a Licence

Prospective business owners and professionals must submit applications to their respective municipalities. Although the process may vary by municipality, you will generally be required to present the following:

⦾ Two pieces of government-issued identification

⦾ A lease agreement or letter of cancellation from the previous owner with their licence if the business has a physical location

⦾ Some municipalities request a criminal background check with your application. For instance, the city of Toronto requires that a background check issued by the Canadian Police Service within 280 days prior to your application be included at the time of your application and again every four years.

A background check may reveal:

⦾ Criminal convictions: you were found guilty and served a sentence or were charged a fine or forfeiture. This may also include probation.

⦾ Absolute and conditional discharges: admission of guilt without a criminal conviction

⦾ Other non-conviction records: withdrawn charges could show up even if you were not found guilty.

In big cities, obtaining business permits can be competitive. Having a criminal record could hurt your chances of obtaining a professional licence. 

What can you do?

Having a criminal record should not bar you indefinitely from having gainful employment and obtaining a trade or professional licence.

Absolute and conditional charges are automatically removed from your record after a waiting period of 1 or 3 years. On the other hand, to erase records of a criminal conviction, you must apply for and be granted a Record Suspension.

Obtaining a Record Suspension

After a waiting period of five or ten years, most records of criminal conviction become eligible for suspension. At which point you may apply for a record suspension to support the case that you are rehabilitated and would pose no risk to the public you would be in contact within your profession.

Obtaining a Record Suspension allows you to pose your application with a reduced likelihood of having it rejected. And to carry out your practice or trade without fear of having your licence revoked.