Former Toronto Police deputy chief backs Cardus’s work bond proposal for people with criminal records
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4 March, 2025
OTTAWA — Canada’s next federal government should view employment policy as a way to prevent or reduce crime. Having a job is a crucial step in helping someone with a criminal record leave crime behind permanently. A Canadian Work Bonding Program to reduce hiring risks for employers is a low-cost, low-bureaucracy policy that could help. The program would provide employers with free insurance against theft or fraud when they hire people who’ve completed their prison sentences.
The United States has had a federal bonding program since 1966, which costs the public purse just US $100 per participant. Renze Nauta, Work & Economics Program Director at Cardus, says the estimated cost for an equivalent Canadian program would be minimal.
“With just $800,000, a federal program could support an estimated 6,000 workers per year, creating an efficient and taxpayer-friendly program to boost employment and reduce reoffending,” says Nauta. “Too often, criminal records make finding work all but impossible. Work bonds would help change that.”
The proposal for a bonding program comes from a new Cardus report, Shifting Risk: Work Bonds for People with Criminal Records and Other Labour-Market Challenges. Any level of government could create its own bonding program at even more modest costs than a federal program. In Ontario, a work bonding program could start with a budget of just $300,000. Similarly, Quebec and Alberta could start their own programs for $200,000 and $100,000 respectively.
Mike Federico, former deputy chief of Toronto Police, endorses work bonds.
“I believe the Cardus report makes a compelling case for action,” says Federico. “Work bonds for people with criminal records would amount to an early and easy win for any government that supports criminal record reform.”
Previous work from Cardus has found evidence of a two-way relationship between crime and employment. While criminality can make it harder for someone to find work, having a job can also help steer someone away from crime. In part, this is because a job doesn’t just bring in a paycheque. It also gives workers a sense of community and purpose.
Cardus has additionally proposed ways to humanize criminal records, which would give employers a chance to see another side of someone’s relationship with the criminal justice system. Humanized criminal records could include, with appropriate consent, someone’s history of:
- Good behaviour while in prison
- Cooperation with parole officers
- Receiving addiction treatment and spiritual care
- Completing work training or work placement programs
Shifting Risk: Work Bonds for People with Criminal Records and Other Labour-Market Challenges is freely available online.
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Daniel Proussalidis
Cardus – Director of Communications
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