There is no legislation in Ontario requiring that records of information about your volunteers be retained for a particular period of time for volunteer management purposes.

Your organization may have policies that address this question for other purposes, such as medical treatment records or transaction records (i.e. purchases, donations, etc.). In those cases, record retention must comply with those standards and policies.

Otherwise, your organization should identify its own reasons for retaining information about volunteers and use this to guide your policy and decisions.

Key questions to ask:
- What is the information in the file?
- Is the information being used for its original purpose?
- If not, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Action (PIPEDA) requires that you destroy it after it has been used for its original purpose.
- If relevant to a future recruitment or engagement decision, that means it is still needed for its original purpose.
- Why are you retaining the info?
- If for a future letter of reference, what is your organization's time frame for this? For how long after the volunteer's exit date will this be done?
- If for a chronological record of your organization's volunteer resources, can the amount of information be anonymized?

Your organization can determine the retention period for your volunteer records based on the purpose of keeping the information.

Organizations must comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) when recruiting and selecting volunteers.

The OHRC identifies the obligations of employers when hiring someone to work for their organization. While the Code does not refer specifically to volunteers, the Ontario Human Rights Commission takes the position that “equal treatment with respect to employment” can be interpreted to provide protection to anyone in a work-like context.

It is therefore consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the OHRC to conduct your volunteer recruitment and screening process, and to manage your volunteers, in a manner that complies with the Code.
Learn more about the Employment social area at the Ontario Human Rights Commission's website.                       

The difference between an intern and a volunteer lies in the purpose of the role.

A volunteer is with an organization primarily to help the organization. An intern is with the organization primarily to benefit themselves. An internship must substantially benefit the intern, not the organization, which will need to commit staff time and effort to provide an educational experience. The intent of an internship is to provide an individual with experience in a chosen field or endeavour to further their career or career choice.

A student practicum placement has a similar intent, but differs in that it is a formal arrangement with an educational institution for the organization to provide a student with relevant experience that will meet a course requirement.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour does provide criteria for determining when an intern position is, in fact, an employee position that should be paid.

For information about the distinction between an intern and an employee, check out this blog post.

A court order requiring an individual to complete a certain number of community hours does not impose an obligation on an organization to engage that person.

The Community Service Order (CSO) Program, established by the Ontario Court of Justice, allows judges the option of ordering an individual to complete a certain numbers of hours working in the community to compensate for the offence they have committed.

The organization’s responsibility is to follow their regular screening process for an applicant based on the nature of the position and the information required to assess suitability. This may include requesting information about the applicant’s offence.

An individual serving a CSO must complete the hours within a certain period of time. It may, therefore, not be practical to place the person in a position if a Police Records Check (Vulnerable Sector Check) is a valid requirement of the screening process for that position, due to the time needed to get the PRC results.

The organization should take care not to exclude someone simply because they are serving a CSO unless the nature of the offence raises concerns due to the role to be played, the clients to be served or other relevant elements of the position.

Engaging someone on a CSO as a volunteer will involve completing some paperwork but, in the interests of social justice, nonprofit organizations should support this alternative sentencing program when possible.

Yes, privacy legislation requires that an organization allow an individual to see the personal information held about that person. This falls under Information Access and Protection of Privacy (IAPP) legislation, along with other personal information laws. While these laws vary somewhat across municipalities and regions, it is generally consistent that an individual has the right to look at their file and to request that any inaccuracies or misinformation in the file be corrected. In addition, an individual can ask for their information to be deleted at anytime. If that information is crucial for their volunteer engagement, such as contact information, then they can no longer volunteer.

Information that might be held in their file may include: interview notes, performance reviews, emergency contact information, messaging and more. Notes related to suitability for a position, or observations that form part of a performance review, must be phrased in ways that describe relevant skills or performance without statements that reflect a personal opinion or a 'gut' feeling.

Find more information from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Yes, visitors to Canada are allowed to volunteer in Canada. However, they may not fill a practicum (placement) position that is intended to be part of a student’s course of study. Your needs for a volunteer role, such as past experience or time commitment, will also determine if a visitor to Canada will be able to support your organization through this volunteer role.

A short-term or event volunteer position is most likely the best option for someone who will be visiting Canada for a month or so. It’s a commitment that they can complete and increases the likelihood that their volunteer experience will be satisfying.

Positions that require extensive screening are not a good choice for visitors staying a short time. An assessment of the time needed to conduct personal interviews, reference checks, police records checks, orientation and training sessions will usually make it clear that this is not a good investment of limited resources.

Responding respectfully when someone offers to volunteer for your organization is always appropriate. The decision to actually engage someone as a volunteer, including visitors to Canada, is about determining that the applicant is the right person for the position.

All volunteers must receive training on the Customer Service Standard of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This includes understanding the purpose and principles of the AODA and learning how to provide effective and respectful service.

You can use the Government of Ontario’s free online training platform, AccessForward, to train volunteers. A certificate of completion from a volunteer’s previous organization is valid proof that the volunteer has been trained on accessible customer service.

It is also helpful to provide your own policies, procedures and practices on accommodating and providing service for people with disabilities. Include these details in your handbook and volunteer orientation/training.

Learn more about accessibility on the Government of Ontario's website.

No – that is not the intent of the legislation. The Occupational Health and Safety act directs employers to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace. It applies to volunteers because it applies to everyone in the workplace.

Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) increase the obligations of employers to prevent workplace violence, harassment, sexual violence and sexual harassment, but they do not require the employer to proactively investigate the background of applicants for positions in your organization.

They do require the employer to proactively assess the risks of workplace violence and sexual violence that may arise from the nature of the workplace, the type of work or the condition of work, and modify risky environmental factors as necessary based on the assessment.

Communicating your organization’s policies and procedures to staff and volunteers is absolutely key to ensuring a safe and healthy work environment – so that everyone knows what is acceptable and what the protocol is when something is unacceptable.

For definitions and compliance guidelines, visit the Ministry of Labour's website.