The National Pardon Centre™

Recently I read an article in The Globe and Mail titled Pot: Why not legalize it? by Margaret Wente, July 24 2008. It concerns the state of marijuana law in Canada and why the law should be left just as it is, despite the fact that a majority of Canadians do not support it. Her closing line, after loosely running through the argument for both sides of this endless debate, is that the law is pretty much as it should be anyway, because police do not routinely enforce the law for simple marijuana possession…ie. the status quo is A O.K.

And this is actually true for the most part. Canadian police do not actively look to arrest people for simple possession of Cannabis; at least not everywhere in the country and not all the time. But that is exactly the problem. Even though police do not usually enforce possession laws they still can and they still do. The problem is that keeping outdated laws on the books gives police a power over the people that they shouldn’t have. Because once the police can arrest you for something that is not considered a crime society is taking one small step on a slippery slope towards a police state. And that is a scary thing.

Paranoid? Perhaps. But it comes with the territory because everyday I go to work I see a criminal record with a simple possession on it. I hear a story about an arrest for simple possession. I hear about people losing their jobs or being denied citizenship or being banned from crossing the border all because of a charge for simple possession. It’s time for us all to grow up on this issue because marijuana is a health matter, not a criminal one. And outdated laws are outdated laws, not good ones.

There are many reasons why an individual should have their Criminal Record removed. Below is a list of some of the most common problems associated with a criminal record.

Peace of Mind: Individuals can be consciously or unconsciously distressed by their past criminal records. Removing your criminal record will help make you feel better about yourself and your future prospects.

Getting / Keeping a Job: Employers conduct criminal record searches on job applicants prior to hiring them. A record may hinder your chance of getting hired. You can be subject to future criminal record searches by your employer. You may lose your job or denied a promotion if a future search reveals your criminal record. In some provinces Human Rights Codes prohibit discrimination based on a criminal record if the person has been pardoned.

Self Employment: Many companies who sub-contract individuals or small businesses are now requiring criminal record searches to be conducted on them.

Bondability: Being bonded means that the employer has paid insurance which will pay claims made against employees. It costs more to bond those with a criminal record. If having you bonded is too expensive for the employer, you may not be hired.

Custody of Your Children: Some parents have had their child custody and visitation rights negatively impacted because of a criminal record.

Apartment Rental: Standard rental application forms ask if you have a criminal record. It may be difficult finding a place to live when you have a criminal record.

Educational Opportunities: Many educational programs require criminal checks before the program requirements can be met.

Stigma of a Criminal Past: People often suffer accusations and have their credibility questioned because of their criminal record.

Travel to the U.S.A.: Individuals with criminal records have been denied entry to the USA. A U.S. Entry Waiver can provide you with peace of mind by ensuring a hassle free border crossing.

Canadian Immigration: Canadian Immigration often rejects applications for refugee status, landed status and citizenship for those who have criminal records.

Volunteer Work: Some organizations require a criminal record search as a precondition for performing volunteer work.

I have been writing articles for a magazine concerned with the trucking industry called Over the Road. You might think truckers are the type to get arrested and that’s why pardons and criminal records apply to them but that would be unfair. The reason truckers are interested in the pardon system more than the average Canadian worker is because they are crossing the border on a regular basis and therefore a criminal record, if it exists, will come under heavier scrutiny for people working in the industry. So maybe truckers get arrested more often that the average Joe but I don’t think so and I certainly don’t have any evidence to support the claim or deny it.

One of the articles I wrote was about a Canadian pardon and how it affects the border when the Americans were not previously aware of the criminal record. Click here to read some of my previous articles you aren’t quite sure how that works.

One of the readers was somewhat upset at the claims made in the article because it seems that his experience contradicted the advice I was giving. He sent me an email explaining how I must retract my statements because obviously they were flawed based on his experience crossing (or not crossing) the United States border.

This is a tough situation because the advice I give is accurate but not absolute. The system is a system and it is prone to flaws and transgressions and no, you can never expect it to work 100% effectively all of the time in every situation. Life just doesn’t work that way.

But all that being said the Canadian pardon program is still a valuable program and short of the most unusual cases you can certainly count on and have confidence in the system. It gets a little trickier when you factor in the American border but even then you should be ok. You just need to know where you stand.

If you have a pardon and you want to be sure all is ok drop by your local police station and ask them to search CPIC for you. If nothing comes up your pardon worked. And if you have never been stopped at the border, deported, or had any experience that would lead you to believe the Americans are aware of your criminal record then you should be ok to cross the border too. Just don’t tell the Americans about your pardon.

Mind you, in a case like that you are breaking the law again. If all this sounds complicated don’t worry because it is.

Life is like that!