Why You Should Get a Pardon

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how reluctant people can be when it comes to applying for their pardon. I can't count the number of times I have met someone who is eligible to have their criminal record cleared and yet who simply doesn't take action on the issue. I'm not sure whether it is a lack of concern (my record hasn't hindered me yet, so why bother?) or uncertainty (I don't know what applying for a pardon means exactly so I'll just avoid doing it as long as possible). Both attitudes are ultimately self-defeating so maybe a few facts will help set the record straight.

To the apathetic, I say it isn't a question of if a criminal record will one day affect your life, but when. With the advent of modern information technology, a person's entire criminal history is accessible at the touch of a button. This is why background checks for many walks of life are becoming increasingly common. It used to be that only certain industries actually took the time to do a thorough check on a job applicant, but this is simply no longer the case. And you can be sure it will only get worse. As a matter of fact, some provinces (such as Quebec) now have unified court records management systems. To clarify; anyone (from a potential employer to a nosy in-law) can now walk into any provincial court house, sit down at a public access computer and view your entire criminal history with just a simple name and birthday search. This kind of public access begs the question "how well do you know your neighbours"? Personally if my name were registered in a public access database I would take every step possible to make sure that it was removed.

Still, some people just don't care. Their criminal record hasn't affected travel, employment or other areas in life and they are not ashamed of a mistake they happened to make in the past. Fair enough. But a criminal record can impede you in any number of other pursuits. Is it only a simple DUI on your record? Well don't count on being able to coach your child's hockey team, or on doing most other types of volunteer work for that matter. Don't plan on getting bonded. Forget your plans to adopt a child or have a daycare in your home or maintain custody of your child after a seperation. And don't bother trying to talk your way out of a speeding ticket. And if you have anything more serious than one DUI on your record then do not even think about trying to enter the United States. The United States is a country at war. They will treat you like a terrorist if you are caught trying to cross the border with a criminal record. US border guards have the authority to give you a summons to appear in an American Immigration Court, seize your vehicle, or even incarcerate you if you attempt this. At the very least, they will create an alien file under your name and you will have to obtain a waiver (which takes at least a year to get, is expensive, is not guaranteed, and which must be renewed every 1 or 5 years for the rest of your life) if you ever want to set foot on US soil again.

To those haven't gotten around to applying for their pardon because they just aren't sure where to start, there is one very simple solution: hire a company to take care of the paperwork for you. Lots of people hire accountants to prepare their tax returns, so why not do the same when it comes to your pardon?! And if you are dead set on applying for your pardon on your own, then you can always obtain an instruction book from the National Parole Board. Just be sure that you are ready to commit yourself to the process as it can be both long and complicated...

I have met hundreds of people whose lives have been paralyzed because of their criminal record. Their stories range from not being able to find gainful employment, to not being able to visit their grandchildren who live in the US to not being able to obtain life saving medical treatment south of the border. This is true. I have spoken to people whose criminal record was ultimately a death sentence. And this in a country with no death penalty. The stories are always heartbreaking and yet so often this heartbreak could have been avoided if the person in question had only applied for a pardon. I'm not sure if people realize just how lucky we are to live in a country that offers second chances. The Canadian pardon program is groundbreaking and people should absolutely take advantage of it. And if it takes a little fear-mongering on my part to get people to realize this, then so be it.

So just to sum up. GO GET YOUR PARDON!

Hiring an Agency vs. Applying for a Pardon Yourself

One of the most common questions I am asked is: "why should I pay and agency to apply for a pardon for me when I can do it myself?" To be perfectly honest, there are pros and cons associated with either option, and the choice is ultimately a personal one. But as with all decisions, it is preferable to make an informed one than to simply take a stab in the dark , so I will address a few of the hesitations that people have mentioned to me and will hopefully make the choice a little less daunting.

First of all, it is possible to apply for a pardon on your own. Forms are available through the National Parole Board, some court houses, and certain police stations. You do not need a lawyer, and you will not have to appear before a judge in order to get your pardon. That being said, applying for a pardon is not simply a matter of ticking off a few boxes and signing on the dotted line. In order to be able to fill out the paperwork, you will have to do a considerable amount of legwork and will have to deal directly with various government agencies including the RCMP, courts, police and, potentially, the National Archives. For a novice, navigating "the system" can be both intimidating and extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, not all court workers and police/ RCMP officers are necessarily familiar with what is involved in a pardon application, and are therefore not always the best resource to consult if you have questions about how to complete your application. Nor are they necessarily pleasant toward a person who is applying for a pardon. Most try to be as helpful as possible, but I have run in to some rather prickly characters over the years.

Another thing to consider is the fact that mistakes on criminal records are not altogether uncommon. A professional pardon service will know how to recognize errors and how to remedy them. Similarly, court workers and law enforcement officers can make mistakes when they complete the forms required for your pardon. Something as seemingly minor as forgetting to put their stamp in the appropriate spot can result in your pardon application being rejected by the Parole Board. Pardon services are trained to watch for this type of omission.

You should also keep in mind that applying for a pardon is very much a step-by-step, progressive process - you need to complete step A before moving on to step B, etc... Certain forms also expire after a specified period of time, meaning that, due to inexperience, people often "jump the gun" and complete certain steps too early, which allows the paperwork to expire, which means that they have to start all over again from square one. An agency that specializes in pardons is, obviously, familiar with the process and won't make this type of mistake. Moreover, and again due to experience within the field, a competent pardon service may be able to shave months off of the process which is, to be perfectly honest, a long one. In certain special circumstances, it is possible to "jump the gun" and complete certain steps early. A service will be able to determine if and when this is appropriate or even possible.

Finally, one very commonly held misconception is that applying for a pardon on your own is free. It is not. Merely sending the application to the Parole Board for review costs $50. Aside from that, there are costs associated with virtually every step of the process. You can expect to pay anywhere from $25-$50 for fingerprinting and another $25 to have your prints certified by the RCMP. Ordering court records often carries fees as well. In Calgary, for instance, court records cost $20 per conviction. If someone has 3 or 4 charges on their record, you can see how this could quickly add up. Finally, there may be fees for local police records checks. These range from $0- $80. Taken in this context, you can see that the fees charged by a pardon agency might not be so "exhorbitant" after all.

So, at the end of the day, while it is possible to apply for your pardon by yourself, hiring an agency can save you time and a lot of work. Many guarantee that your pardon will be granted, provided that you meet governmental eligibility requirements, so employing experienced professionals can also give you peace of mind. Just remember that not all companies are necessarily created equal! I cannot stress the importance of shopping around and asking questions enough. If you do decide to engage the services of a pardon agency, just be sure to ask whether there will be any additional costs involved and what you will be expected to contribute to the process. If you do this, chances are that you won't regret your choice.

How to apply for a Canadian pardon.

There is a lot of misinformation circulating about Canadian pardon applications and how to apply for them so it is my hope that this blog will help clear things up a little. So first of all, let me explain how a Canadian pardon application works in the simplest terms.

A Canadian pardon application is granted by the National Parole Board so it is the gorvernment that is ultimately responsible for giving you your pardon. That being said the government has no program to assist people with the paperwork which is extrememly time consuming and fairly complicated in all but a few cases.

If you require assistance with your Canadian pardon application there are many companies offering pardon services but you may find a fairly large discrepency in how they work. The industry is not at all regulated so you may find certain companies trying to convincee you that they are the government, or that they represent the government. This is simply not the case. Hiring a company to handle your Canadian pardon application is a lot like hiring an accountant to do your taxes. You can do it all on your own, but most people think it makes sense to have a professional handle it for them. The truth is that the police, the courts and even lawyers to a large extent are simply not up to date on pardon procedures and how they work. So very often people handling their own application are confused due to nothing more than getting the wrong advice.

At any rate a good pardon company should handle all of the paperowork on your behalf, with mimimal effort done by you. It should cost in the ballpark of $500.

Sometimes there are one or two steps that the client is REQUIRED to handle on his own, but in this case your representatvive should provide all the necessary documents and clear instructions on how to get it done.

When hiring a pardon company you should first clearly understand what it is you are paying for. Some companies will charge $500 simply to send you detailed instructions on how to complete the application yourself. This is a clear waste of money as you can get intstructions from the National Parole Board free of charge.

You also want to be aware of what the costs include. Some companies will charge the service fee and then bill disbursement charges at a later date, so a $500 fee becomes a $700 - $800. Generally speaking, most disbursement charges should be included in the service fee but it is not always the case and it is ultimately your responsibility to understand what it is you are paying for, and what is required of you.

Canadian Pardons Information

Our modern Canada pardon originates from the Royal Prerogative of Mercy- a British tradition that gave the ruling monarch the ability to exercise absolute power over persons convicted of criminal acts. Via the Letters Patent, this authority was embodied in the Governor General of Canada; our acting representative of the British Crown. (http://www.npb-cnlc.gc.ca/infocntr/policym/man_14_e.htm). Over the decades, helped along by the civil rights movements of the 1960’s and the enactment of legislation such as the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canada pardon system has evolved into its current form. In theory, it is a nod to the fundamental goal of rehabilitation that pervades our criminal justice system. In practice, the Canada pardon provides individuals with Canadian criminal records a second chance and removes many of the barriers that are associated with having a criminal conviction.

In this day and age of routine background checks, finding employment is perhaps the greatest obstacle faced by people having Canadian criminal records. The fact of the matter is that a person who has a criminal conviction– no matter how petty and no matter how long ago it occurred – will generally be passed over by employers in favour of an applicant who has a clean record. Similarly, a Canadian criminal record prevents a person from being bonded, from performing most types of volunteer work, from adopting children, and from travelling freely to certain countries, most notably the USA. Attempting to cross the US border with a Canadian criminal record could result in vehicle seizure, incarceration, or, at the very least, will make it necessary that a person apply for special permission in order to travel there. This “special permission” is called a US entry waiver and is expensive, complicated, must be renewed every 1 or 5 years, and is not guaranteed. Once a person has been refused entry to the United States, they will require a waiver for the rest of their life.

Aside from these concrete examples of how having a Canadian criminal record can negatively affect a person’s life, we must not forget the emotional impact that being labelled a “criminal” by society can have on a person. People live with feelings of guilt, regret, and shame due to their past mistakes. Individuals with criminal records know that they aren’t “bad” people, but nonetheless have to worry about whether their spouses, relatives, children, coworkers, and neighbours will be quite so forgiving if and when the proverbial cat is let out of the bag. Fortunately, a Canada pardon can end the discrimination faced by people with Canadian criminal records. Once a pardon has been granted, a person’s criminal history is removed from public file. This means that no one can subsequently find out about a person’s past convictions unless the person in question chooses to divulge that information. Background checks will come back clean, employment opportunities will open up, and life can return to normal. We are all extremely lucky to live in a country that espouses liberal values, that believes in second chances, and that is willing to constitutionally guarantee that the rights of individuals are protected. A Canadian criminal record can have serious negative repercussions. And these repercussions tend to creep up repeatedly at the most inopportune and unexpected times. But a past conviction need not become a life sentence. There exists a simple solution to ending discrimination, stigmatization, and shame. Encourage anyone you know who needs one to seek out a Canada pardon and to clear their record of past mistakes.