When a PC is actually a VS

The letter started “Dear Robert:” The formal name...good news could not be following.  It sounded like someone addressing you in school when you’re about to be…well, you get the picture.

A sprinkling of snow on the back deck

The day had started out like most winter weather in our area here in Niagara this time of year…some clouds, some temperatures hovering around freezing and a sprinkle of snow, which had melted earlier, just to let you know it was December. Santa was not far off.

The Canada Post “door to door” had arrived. Vince, our post person, had neatly placed our stack in the metal receptacle.  Some Christmas cards….the usual flyers (one telling me that I could reduce my payday loan costs) and a crisp white envelope that immediately got my attention. I tore it open.

Niagara Regional Police Service had said the envelope. Chief Jeffrey McGuire read the letterhead. The body explained more. It was a confirmation and clarification of information that I had received that morning by an email directly from Chief McGuire. And, like his email had said, I had also received a phone call from the Police Service just about a half hour after I had read his email.

I guess to really explain the situation of my involvement with the local “gendarmes”, I had better go back in time to frame this properly. You see, I had been contacted 10 days earlier by officials of the Kivalliq Health Centre in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut (Canada’s most recent Territory). They requested that I consider helping their situation since seven years prior I had completed a relief position as their Xray Technologist during January when their tech had gone on annual leave.

It seems that they were “techless” and they needed some help. My name had been raised since I had “experienced” the north previously. Seven years is a long time between postings. There were many things to consider…my age, health, family, and other obligations. The list dwindled as all the factors seemed to align. With my registration validated, the last obstacle was my police background check (PC).

So I had gone to the Niagara Regional Police Service website, to obtain the necessary forms and complete the process. This was the day after I had discussed my employment in Rankin Inlet. The last piece of the puzzle was a police clearance (PC), as required by most employers these days. Mine only took about a half hour seven years ago. Health care workers, like teachers and other professionals, require a more in depth background check called a Vulnerable Sector (VS) search since these professionals are dealing with children, the aged, and the infirmed.

Information on Vulnerable Sector Police Background Checks

A quick search of the website revealed a four week waiting period for my VS checkup. I was prepared and, since it was the week before Christmas, I had loads of time. Arriving Wednesday morning at 68 Church Street in downtown St. Catharines, I bebopped up the stairs to RECORDS. At 0830, the area was clear....only a records clerk behind the window…and an empty waiting area. A quick explanation for my visit was followed by a Hindenberg moment. The clerk politely informed me that the Vulnerable Sector (VS) background check backlog was NINE WEEKS.

Their website had lied! What to do…in nine weeks I was scheduled to be in the Arctic…well, maybe not now. In a calm, and somewhat collected, manner I completed my application, paid my money and departed. How could this be? What were the ramifications, not only for me, but for others awaiting their employment? The result was a quiet drive home as I thought through any options.

The next day of problem-solving, this roadblock, was depressing as no solution could be found. What to do? Consult !!!! So I called Matt the next morning (friday) at the health centre and explained my own overnight solution. He was encouraging, not overly optimistic, but he said that he would assist, however possible, and he did so in an email later in the day.

His email, my letter of explanation and a copy of my previous police check from December 2007 were delivered on Saturday morning to police headquarters in an envelope addressed to Chief McGuire. My solution was simple and straight forward…explain to him the situation in the community up north and ask for the process to be expedited, if possible. It was the only thing I thought might help. By Monday, I had three responses from the Niagara Regional Police Service and their help and guidance.

The quick response showed me that sometimes you just have to ask. The letter that afternoon explained the situation more thoroughly. It started out:

“On July 19, 2010, the RCMP instituted enhancements to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system for querying flagged pardoned sex offender records, commonly referred to as a Vulnerable Sector (VS) query that all Canadian police agencies must comply with.”

Further explanation included the fact that I needed to be finger printed and that this was done by appointment only. I called and made my appointment as these are done, but twice, a week. As we write, my digital digits are traveling electronically over the internet having paid my fees.  The usual

Sgt. Preston & Yukon King from CBS in 1956

10 day turnaround means I should know by mid- January….my fate is now in the hands of those scarlet tunics in Ottawa.

ONWARD…SGT. PRESTON !!!! 
Mush.... you huskies! 

Coming up soon: Giving me The Gear(s)