Criminal Record History

Yes, the CRC required for your registrant renewal is different from the CRH for your pharmacy renewal.  They are required for different purposes under two different pieces of legislation. 

The CRH is required for all pharmacy managers and direct/indirect owners of a pharmacy for pharmacy license applications under the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act. The CRH is processed by Sterling Backcheck, results are sent to the College and reviewed by the College's Application Committee, if required.

All registered pharmacists and pharmacy technicians currently undergo a CRC through the Criminal Records Review Program (CRRP) as required under the Health Professions Act (HPA) at the time of initial registration and at least every 5 years thereafter at the time of registration renewal. This CRC check only reviews selected offences under the Criminal Code, whereas the CRH reviews all the convictions under the Criminal Codes within the previous 6 years.

Only Authorized Representative(s) of the pharmacy may check who has submitted their Proof of Eligibility on eServices. Indirect Owner(s) and the pharmacy manager can either contact an Authorized Representative to confirm that their attestation and Criminal Record History (CRH) have been submitted, or they may contact the Licensure Department via email at [email protected]. Note that the Licensure Department will not disclose the eligibility status of the Indirect Owner(s) or pharmacy manager.

The CRH results will be sent directly from Sterling Backcheck to the College. Note that although you may have already received your results, it can take up to 7 days for the College to receive this information. Please do not send your results to the College; we only accept this information directly from Sterling Backcheck.

For further information on Criminal Record History results, please refer to the Pharmacy Licensure Guide.

CRH involves a search of criminal record history information in the databases of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and local police stations to determine whether the eligibility criteria to hold a pharmacy licence is met. Specifically, pursuant to the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act (PODSA), “no direct owner, indirect owner or manager has, within the previous 6 years, been convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code (Canada)”.

Proof of Eligibility consists of both an attestation and Criminal Record History (CRH). The attestation must be completed annually for each pharmacy, or when an individual takes on a new role within the pharmacy. The CRH must be completed once every five years.

Note that the CRH is not the same as the Criminal Record Check (CRC) that is completed by registrants of the College. All owners who are registered pharmacists as well as the pharmacy manager must also continue to undergo the separate CRC process to maintain their registration with the College.