One of the most rewarding parts of my job is visiting community centres, detention facilities, and other institutions to give seminars on Canadian pardons. Often, the people I meet have heard about the pardon process but they hesitate for any number of reasons. Some people are worried a pardon application will just cause them more problems, some think that their pardon will never be accepted, some don’t think the pardon will do them any good. Many people simply don’t want to deal with all the paperwork.

My answer is that the pardon does not create a new record, it removes your old records. I reassure them that if they are eligible, they will receive their pardon. I remind them of all the problems their record has caused them, and the peace of mind they’ll have when those records are finally erased. I show them that if they don’t want to deal with the paperwork, they can have it done by professionals, the same way people deal with their taxes.

In short, I have never heard a good reason (or excuse) for not applying for a pardon.

Of course there are always those people who have a record, and who have never been inconvenienced by it at all. I understand when they tell me they don’t need a pardon, because often people don’t realize the danger until it’s too late.

Sometimes people assume their criminal convictions are erased automatically, others think their record is too minor to cause them any harm. But this is not the case. Too many of my clients have come to see me in a panic because somebody (often a police officer during a routine road check, an insurance inspector, a potential employer, a border guard, etc…) has accessed their criminal record, and now they want to get their pardon as soon as possible.

In dealing with all these people in difficult situations I have come to believe that everybody should know their rights. If you have a Canadian criminal record, then you should be aware that it is your right to apply for your pardon.

All you need to do is start the process, and you too can be among the millions of Canadians who have overcome the problems caused by a criminal record, simply by applying for their pardon. You may not want to revisit old mistakes but I assure that putting the past behind you is a relief. It is a relief I see on the faces of my clients everyday and it is a relief that you have the right to attain.

For the past few years I have been dealing with the issues surrounding life with a criminal record. On a daily basis, I do my best to make sure people’s Pardon applications are processed as smoothly and quickly as possible, because I know that they need to move on with their lives – as quickly as possible. But every day I wonder about the millions of people who either don’t know they can apply for a pardon, or think they don’t need one!

Between 15 and 25 % of Canadian adults have been charged with a criminal offence. This translates into millions of people living with the stigma of a record - and all the problems that come with it. Imagine the entire population of Montreal or Toronto having a criminal record!

This might seem like a lot of people, but what is truly surprising to me is how many of these people do not even know they have the right – in Canada - to apply for a pardon. They know that their record is preventing them from finding a job, from moving up in the company, from getting insured, or from applying for their citizenship. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, they have no idea that a pardon for their crime(s) is even an option.  Nobody has told them about the pardon program in Canada.

The pardon program is quite simple really. If you have finished your sentence and have waited 3 to 5 years after that, you are eligible to apply for your pardon. It’s that simple. Now you can’t say that nobody told you. You don’t need to be working, you don’t need a lawyer, and you don’t have to appear in court before a judge. You simply have to start the process. It is a matter of meeting the criteria set forth in the program. And if you meet the criteria and you complete the application correctly then you can get a pardon and put your criminal record behind you, which is a very nice thing to leave in the past.