Mandatory Background Checks to be Enforced on Quebec Taxi Drivers
(PRWEB) July 23, 2013 -- The current law in Quebec is that taxi drivers cannot obtain a taxi permit if in the last five years they have been convicted, and not pardoned, of a criminal offence related to taxi service or related to conduct required to drive a taxi. According to an article by CBC News, dated May 13, 2013, this rule has not been strongly enforced—taxi drivers in Montreal were rarely asked to submit a criminal record check in their application for a taxi permit. But this is all about to change.
Quebec’s Ministry of Transport, Transports Québec, has decided to more stringently enforce the law in order to prevent taxi drivers with certain criminal convictions from lawfully operating a taxi. The government has proposed a requirement for all taxi drivers applying for a taxi permit to submit a certificate proving a clean record history. This sort of police background check will cost each applicant $70, a fee which must be paid by the individual drivers seeking a permit. According to the spokeswoman for Transports Québec, Alexandra Reny, the proposed enforcement is more of a preventative measure “because the taxi drivers are in contact with vulnerable persons, like seniors or young children.“ The Ministry has not yet decided exactly which convictions would result in a rejection of an application for a taxi permit, nor has it stated when the new proposal would be implemented.
Pardon Services Canada indicates that, at this point, the only recourse for taxi drivers with a criminal record is to apply for a Record Suspension to clear their record from the Canadian Police Information Centre database.
Pardon Services Canada is an industry leader in the business of helping Canadians overcome the obstacles of a criminal record. Since 1989, PSC has successfully assisted over 100,000 Canadians exercise their lawful rights under the Criminal Records Act of Canada and the Immigration and Nationality Act of the United States.
Paulina Zagozda, Communications Coordinator, Pardon Services Canada, http://www.RemoveYourRecord.com, 1-866-972-7366 7027, [email protected]
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