MPs want pardons to be easier to obtain
Simplified approach would include lower fees, automated process
OTTAWA— A panel of MPs wants the federal government to look at making criminal pardons automatic for some offenders who’ve served their sentences. The House of Commons public safety committee also suggests lowering the $631 fee for a pardon and simplifying the complex process for applicants.
Acriminal record can hinder a person’s ability to get a job, find housing, go to school or travel, committee members say in a report tabled without fanfare just before the parliamentary holiday break.
Under changes brought in by the former Conservative government, lesser offenders — those with a summary conviction — must wait five years instead of three before they can apply to the Parole Board of Canada for a pardon. Offenders who have served a sentence for a more serious crime — an indictable offence — must wait 10 years not five.
Also, the fee quadrupled to $631 from $150 to ensure full cost recovery and the name for a pardon was changed to the more neutral-sounding term “record suspension.”
Wayne Long, the New Brunswick Liberal MP whose motion prompted the committee review, told the MPs that sometimes, often early in life, mistakes lead to criminal records.
“As a society, we need to be able to provide deserving citizens with a second chance,” he said. “Unfortunately, for many Canadians, especially those in low-income situations, the criminal justice system often fails to provide a second chance.”
Tory MP Jim Eglinski, a committee member, questioned the notion of the government absorbing all costs of pardon processing, suggesting instead that only people of limited means receive assistance.
Ultimately, the committee recommended the feds review the fee structure. It also called for consideration of measures to make the process “more accessible,” as well as another look at the term “record suspension,” given some offenders appreciate the significance of being pardoned by society.
MPs also recommended that Ottawa examine “a mechanism to make record suspensions automatic in specific and appropriate circumstances.”
They did not provide examples of such circumstances. But in the committee hearings, the John Howard Society suggested automatically closing a criminal record once an offender completed their sentence and a crime-free period had passed.
The Liberal government said two years ago it would review the Conservative changes that made people wait longer and pay more to obtain a pardon. In response to a federal consultation, a large majority said the $631 fee posed a substantial hurdle for people trying to turn their lives around. Most also felt the application process was long and complicated.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale promised in October to make it quicker and less costly to obtain a pardon for a simple pot possession conviction, now that cannabis is legal. Coming legislation will waive the waiting period and pardon fee for possession offences.