I live in Ontario.
There have been a few incidences, one of them being a company hired an employee and failed to do references. Later, the employee was investigated for stealing from the company (several thousands). The insurance declined to cover the costs since it came out that the employee stole at her previous job (I believe the current and former company had insurance with the same company, and this is how they knew). The insurance said that if they had conducted a reference check with the former company then they would have know about the stealing (since this is what she was terminated for). They had failed to do this and therefore the insurance wouldn't cover. This is why it's highly recommended to complete the reference, even if it's just one person.
I don't have my textbook on me to quote the incident, but it's found in For Better or for Worse by Christine Thomlinson.