Where’s the background check?

If you apply for a job with the City of Penticton, presumably, there’s a voluntary criminal background check required. If you want to volunteer with kids or vulnerable adults, your name first goes to the RCMP.

Those with a criminal past won’t be hired.

But, get ready, the background check just applies for employees and volunteers — not the mayor.

Marijuana advocate Jukka Laurio is running for mayor of the Peach City for a third time. He was in the headlines a lot over the past term for battling with City Hall over unpaid tickets related to his dispensary, or as he calls it, compassion club.

The more serious issue is Laurio is a convicted sex offender. Laurio openly admits this, but details are scant because this happened in the pre-internet days and the local media knows very few details.

According to then-acting city manager Charles Loewen, Laurio is not allowed to visit either the library or community centre.

If Laurio was elected mayor, he’d have to send his deputy if there was a ribbon cutting of a new daycare centre at the Penticton Community Centre.

Laurio has paid his debt to society, but should he be allowed to run for public office when he’s been convicted of an indictable offence?

The B.C. Elections Act allows it, provided the person is not in jail. (This charade is not the fault of the City of Penticton — they have no choice. They have to follow the Act.)

So, there could be candidates all over B.C. who have, in the past, been convicted of fraud, uttering threats, assault or theft — and the voters won’t know about it.

When the media sends out its questionnaires to candidates, does the question, “Do you have a criminal record” need to be included?

We understand privacy laws. When a person runs for office do we really need to know their martial status, job title and how many children they have?

Perhaps not, but we should be allowed to know if they’ve ever been found guilty of a criminal offence.

A mayor may not deal directly with young people or count money, but should there not be some form of protection in place?

It’s been suggested that with a large number of fringe candidates, a deposit (similar to what’s done in federal and provincial elections) be mandatory. It’s also suggested that a candidate should require 50 or 100 signatures to assure legitimacy.

Why not start with a criminal background check?