It never ceases to amaze me how Canadians crossing the border continue believing that honesty is the best policy when questioned by border guards about drugs or a criminal past. Particularly in the former case honesty is the kiss of death. I can guarantee you that if you have ever had anything…whatsoever…at all, at all, at all… to do with any kind of recreational drug, admitting it to a US border guard will land you in serious trouble. At best you are providing yourself with a perpetual headache for the rest of your life as far as the border is concerned.
Of course this is all a testament to the fact that we Canadians are a nice lot indeed. We like to be honest. We like to be good. We like to hold the door open for little old ladies who say thank you and smile.
But please if you are traveling to the States and you have a criminal record take care of it before you go. And if you have ever…god forbid…smoked a joint on a fun summer night when the rules didn’t seem to matter so much just don’t tell the guy at the border if he asks you about it.
Take it from me and take Nancy Reagan’s advice. If they ask you, just say no!
Since this blog is all about Canadian pardons and US entry waivers sooner or later I was going to have to address fingerprinting. When I tell people I need their fingerprints often I am told to go and retrieve the ones that are on file with the police. This seems somewhat reasonable as I deal with people who have been arrested and, therefore, had their fingerprints taken. But for a pardon or waiver application, or for a simple background check, what are needed are non-criminal fingerprints.
We use non-criminal fingerprints to compare against the criminal fingerprints on file with the RCMP when retrieving a criminal record from Ottawa. If we did not retrieve a criminal record with fingerprints we would run into trouble.
Imagine if the National Pardon Centre were processing a pardon for say, John Smith. In the case of John Smith if we were using only his name to retrieve his information in CPIC there is a pretty good chance we would come up with a criminal record, whether or not it happened to be the correct John Smith or the correct criminal record.
On the other hand when we retrieve a criminal record using fingerprints, we eliminate the name confusion, because even though there are many John Smiths in Canada, each John Smith definitely has his own fingerprint pattern. So for that reason (and because the government agencies want it to be done this way) we must obtain a fresh, new set of non-criminal fingerprints. Without non-criminal fingerprints you simply cannot process a pardon or waiver application.
It is the first step in each application and company you are dealing with should be certified to take fingerprints.
One of the things I have been trying to emphasize with this blog is the number of people/companies in the past year or two who want to get into the Pardon and Waiver business for the wrong reasons. There have been so many new games in town that you need to remember these people may not have the slightest clue what they are doing. And there is a good chance they are only in it for the quick buck.
So when I stumbled upon this little blog entry I thought a re-post was in order. Have a quick read and if you are in the market for a pardon or waiver service be careful who you choose because you just might end up with your neighbours nanny preparing your paperwork just to earn a couple of extra bucks.
Solve all your problems at Finch and Dufferin
Posted: February 27, 2008, 11:31 AM by Peter Kuitenbrouwer
Kuitenbrouwer
I was waiting awhile for a 36 Finch West earlier this morning, on the windswept corner of Dufferin Street, and reading the flyers pasted to the bus shelter. It seems there is one company in North York, called, mysteriously, ABM, which can resolve a lot of your outstanding issues.
“Quick Divorce from $300!” trumpeted one of the colour flyers, suggesting that you call ABM Legal Services. The next flyer asked, “Criminal Record? Pardon/ U.S. Waiver from $399. ABM Pardon Services.” A third flyer promoted the Quick Road Test from ABM Driving School. And, of course, “Do you need child care? ABM Care.”
Now maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure if I want to hire the same ABM guys who’ve given me a quick divorce, quick road test and a quick scrub of my criminal past, to look after my children. On the other hand, it has the appeal of convenience.
The systems in place for processing pardons in Canada can get extremely complicated when you started dealing with different court outcomes. For example, if you have ever gone to court but were found not-guilty then logic would suggest you do not have a criminal record and do not require a pardon. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
When you are found not guilty it is true that you do not require a pardon. But there is definitely a record of criminal activity that you will want to take care of because you cannot count on the system to do it for you. The fact is that when you were arrested the police took your fingerprints. And when you went to court the clerks, prosecutors, judge, etc. all generated documents with your name on them. And finally your name will also appear on the restricted distribution section of CPIC. All of these cases are examples of a criminal record but none will be taken care of by a pardon application because you can only apply for a pardon if you were guilty.
The logic of this system appears to be out of whack because if you were found guilty you can have your criminal record removed. But if you were dragged through the court system for no good reason you cannot.
Fortunately it only appears that the system works this way. Because if you were found not guilty in court you can apply for what is called a purge and file destruction and, if done correctly, it will essentially destroy all traces of the arrest(s) in question. It is simply a different set of paperwork for dealing with a criminal record. Instead of dealing with the National Parole Board we deal directly with the various courts and police stations involved in the arrest, all of which have their own specific rules and policies governing the retention / destruction of these documents.
If you were found not guilty in court please do not assume that you do not have a criminal record because you do. It may not be your standard, everyday, run-of-the-mill criminal record but it is a criminal record nonetheless and it can mess up your life in all the same ways that a guilty verdict criminal record can.
It might not be fair that you have to apply to get rid of a not guilty verdict but in comparison to some of the legal systems around the world Canada’s is surprisingly humane and just.
Not guilty is not guilty but let’s face it; people will still raise an eyebrow if they see you were arrested at all. So take advantage of the fact that in Canada you can have the records destroyed and get yourself a purge and file destruction. It is definitely worth the effort.
