Some organizations and agencies may consider tightening their policies when it comes to criminal background checks for volunteers and employees who visit people’s homes.

It comes after an Elections Manitoba enumerator was fired on Thursday after a resident in Winnipeg recognized the man as a convicted child sex offender.

The Manitoba Lung Association does not require volunteers to provide a criminal background check.

Director of Fund Development, Kathi Neal, said the Lung Association had already started a review of its policies prior to the incident.

“We are just in the midst of reviewing all of our volunteer policies,” said Neal. “As the world changes we need to change along with it.”

The association will send about 200 longstanding volunteers for a door-to-door campaign in Brandon in the months of May and June to collect donations.

“We really know the people who are working with us,” said Neal. “They are our ambassadors working out in the community.”

Neal said asking their volunteers to provide record checks may offend some people and that cost of record checks may be a challenge for volunteers who would have to shoulder the cost.

The Winnipeg Police Services charges $43.25 for a criminal record search.

“Having a criminal record check is not a guarantee,” said Neal. “People without criminal record checks will commit some kind of an offence after that so we really need to weigh all of the options carefully.”

A spokesperson for Elections Manitoba is reviewing its hiring policies after the incident.

Elections Canada does not require revising agents to provide a criminal record check before getting hired to collect information for federal elections.

In the 2015 federal election, 8,000 revising agents were hired across Canada.

A spokesperson said they mostly visit new subdivisions and apartments where there is high turnover among residents.

The John Howard Society’s executive director John Hutton said about 13 per cent of the population has a criminal background that more and more employers now require criminal record checks.

Hutton said it can be a barrier for ex-convicts trying to get their life back on track and wishes more employers would use discretion when hiring for certain jobs.