Criminal Law Review

Many people in Canada live with the stigma of a misdemeanor committed in their youth when their responsibility and standing in society were of little consequence. Other Canadian citizens have committed crimes for which they have paid the required price by law either in the form of a fine, community service or jail sentence.

However, living with the stigma of a past conviction need not be a problem in Canada. Under the Criminal Records Act (CRA), the National Parole Board (NPB/Board) can issue pardons to wipe out previous criminal records. Once a period of three years has passed for a summary offence or five years for a criminal offence, anyone who has completed their jail sentence and paid any outstanding fines resulting from their crime can apply for a pardon. The three or five year period begins from the day you pay off your fine in full or the day you finish your community service or entire jail sentence.

The National Parole Board has the power to deny as well as issue pardons. First the NPB looks to see if the exact amount of time has elapsed since you paid your fine or completed your jail sentence or community service. They also check with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)to make sure that you have no other convictions during this period and that you have been a law-abiding citizen with no allegations of criminal conduct during this time. Based on your conduct since your crime was committed, the NPB will assess your application for a pardon and make a decision to wither grant or deny your pardon.

If a pardon is granted, your criminal record is removed from the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC); this doesn’t mean that your record is destroyed, it just means that your conviction will not show up on public record checks in Canada. The Solicitor General of Canada still has the power to disclose information on past crimes regardless of your pardon - this is a rare occurrence but if it is deemed in favour of Canadian national or public security he will do so. Likewise it doesn’t mean you can claim that you have never had a conviction; you must always confirm that you have but that you have received a pardon. Pardons can be annulled by the NPB if they discover errors on your application or should your conduct deteriorate or if you are convicted of a federal act or regulation of Canada.

Obtaining a pardon is a time consuming task requiring extensive documentation particularly if you were convicted of an indictable offence. Summary offences are far quicker to process especially if the offence was committed a long time ago. Nevertheless the procedure can take anything from 12 to 18 months depending on the extent of your previous conviction and some pardons for indictable offences have been known to take even longer. Whilst Canada pardons are not recognized all over the world and not in the USA they are well worth getting. A pardon demonstrates that you are now a law -abiding citizen, making it easier to apply for work, get a reference or a NEXUS card to name just a few benefits. Moreover a Canada pardon will free you from the stigma of your previous conviction.