READ MORE: A White Rock man, who shares a birth date and gender with a sex offender, is upset his government employer wants fingerprints to prove he is who says he is. John Daly examines the law and why the process seems to treat the innocent unfairly.
A food service worker employed at Peace Arch Hospital is outraged over a new regulation that forces him to confirm he’s not a sex offender.
“I’m just appalled they would even put me in a category of a sex offender, which I’m not, and they’re saying I’m guilty until proven innocent,” says Doug Holley, who recently got a letter from Fraser Health telling him he needed to have his fingerprints done.
The fingerprints are needed because Holley has a similar combination of name and birth of a registered sex offender. It’s a change enacted by the federal government in 2010 for anyone who becomes a new employee at a place that works with the vulnerable.
READ MORE: Harper announces new rules for sex offenders
The Ministry of Justice says as many as 2,000 workers every year undergo the same “Vulnerable Sector” check each year, but wouldn’t comment directly on Holley’s case.
Most galling to Holley is that he has to pay the $56 cost of getting the fingerprints done.
“It’s just a cash grab as far as I’m concerned,” he says.
“More people have to come forward like myself and…let people know we’re being shafted by the government.”
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It’s a situation that frustrates many who get the letter. Brian Henry, a longtime North Vancouver dentist, said he’s in danger of losing his license if he doesn’t comply.
“I’ve worked for the college of dental surgeons for 35 years…I’ve got 40,000 people on the north shore that can vouch for me, but that’s not good enough. I need to fingerprint myself to continue practicing,” he says.
“This is ridiculous.”
NDP justice critic Mike Farnworth says people shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket to prove they’re not a sex offender.
“They need to rethink this and figure out what they’re doing,” he says.
“It’s just unacceptable. Even if you do need someone fingerprinted, they should not be having to pay for that. That should be the responsibility of the province.
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