Due to the private, freelance nature of the industry, most piano teachers do not need a vulnerable sectors police check in order to teach children. This is troubling, as sex-related charges involving minors have been laid against a Coquitlam teacher and a Calgary teacher in the last six months alone. (For more information, see this Global News article and this Calgary Sun article).
You do need a police check to work in a daycare or to coach your kid's soccer team, because the associations and businesses that run these programs require one. Why shouldn't piano teaching organizations? This petition suggests that piano teaching associations such as the Alberta Piano Teachers Association (APTA) and the Alberta Registered Music Teachers Association (ARMTA) require all members undergo a police check every 2-3 years.
From a business standpoint, without self-policing, sex scandals involving piano teachers threaten the private industry by increasing the likelihood of government intervention through licensing, permits, etc. Piano teachers should set up to the plate to safeguard their students, to ease the minds of their parents, and to do our due diligence as business owners.
Having police-checks become a mandatory part of belonging to associations such as APTA and ARMTA can only lend more credibility to these organizations, the teachers that belong to them, and allow parents to make a more informed choice regarding their child's safety.