The National Pardon Centre™

TORONTO, Nov. 26 /CNW Telbec/ – The National Pardon Centre (NPC) delivered expert  testimony concerning Bill C-23B to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in Ottawa on November 23rd.  NPC, a not for profit agency, provides professional expertise and assistance to Canadians who want to apply for a pardon that would eliminate their criminal record. A successful pardon removes barriers to many kinds of employment, travel, and other activities that most take for granted.

NPC presented evidence and recommendations supportive of reforms passed through Bill C-23A but opposed additional reforms proposed in Bill C-23B that would introduce unfair financial hurdles for less affluent applicants. They also criticized additional wait times that would delay applicants’ ability to resume fully productive lives and that would add to the burden on Canadian tax payers. NPC disagreed any name change, citing data that proved overwhelming support for the status quo.  Finally, they argued against a “3 strikes” rule, stating that every person and crime should be assessed on its own set of circumstances.

“10% of Canadians have a criminal record”, said Michael Ashby, co-Founder of the National Pardon Centre. “Typically, our clients are non-violent offenders. Most have been charged with DUI offenses. Before applying, applicants must complete all aspects of their sentence and wait the prescribed waiting time. If they accomplished this, and have not been charged with any other crimes, they are eligible to apply.”

The Government rolled out the first half of its pardon reforms in May 2010 with Bill C-23A. The Bill introduced longer wait times, a more effective classification system, and a more rigorous and comprehensive review system.

The National Pardon Centre (NPC) is Canada’s only national, fully-bilingual pardons agency and one of handful that is RCMP accredited to conduct fingerprinting and background checks. It has a 99% success rate. NPC offers walk in services at each of its offices in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. The National Pardon Centre helps those who are eligible to apply for a pardon that will remove mention of their criminal offence from the public record.

One of my competitors has a blog that I watch from time to time. And I find it amusing because every blog entry reads like this:

“Here is a letter from a happy client who loves us…”

And then the entry continues with a letter congratulating the company on its excellence. It is not for me to decide whether or not the letter is a fake. And I am also not in the business of disgracing my competition which is why I have not named names. But…I am willing to do a pardon or waiver for half price to the first person who actually reads this blog AND discovers the competitor I am referring to. Send your answers to info@nationalpardon.org I would be very happy if someone actually managed to do this.  

In the meantime I thought it would be fun to turn things around. So, in the interest of blog entries that are nothing more than letters from one person to another here is a letter I sent to an actual person who asked me how long the pardon procedure takes to complete. I guarantee it is 100% authentic.

Hi Albert,

Our expedited service is only applicable as far as the work done in our office in concerned. Once the file is sent to the Parole Board it is out of our hands. That being said we are seeing our expedited files finished within 2- 8 months right now (that estimate includes time at the National Parole Board). Of course there are always exceptions since we are dealing with the government, which is why we cannot guarantee this time but that is honestly the average response we expect at the moment.

You should also be aware that expedited services are only available if the client is currently eligible or if he/she will be eligible very soon. We have no way of getting around the probationary periods imposed by the Parole Board.

As for emergency pardons there are some situations that warrant special treatment by the Parole Board. The work on our side does not change but if we can provide proof of emergency status then the response time from the Parole Board can be shortened. However, work is not a valid reason because work is the number one reason people finally get around to obtaining a pardon. Unfortunately, our clients tend to wait until the criminal record is adversely affecting something in their life before realizing the importance of the application.

I hope that information helps. Please let me know if you have further questions or if you would like to get a file started.

Kind regards,

Michael Ashby

(514) 842-2411 x 227
http://www.nationalpardon.org/

It has been a long time since we were covered extensively in the Media. Since we opened our doors in 2002 we have been featured and/or quoted in everything from the Globe and Mail to La Journal de Montreal, and quite a few in between.

Two of my favourite articles appeared in a little weekly, English language paper here in Montreal, The Montreal Mirror. The paper covered two stories. One was the business in pardons in General and another was the story of a local Montreal business by the name of Pierre Charade.

Pierre is a producer for RDS, which is the French language sports channel. And since meeting Mr. Charade back in 2002 we have stayed in touch and I have advertised on his programs regularly. It is been a positive working relationship. And I like to think that part of what we do here at the National Pardon Centre is build working relationships. In other words, we help our clients get their lives back on the right track. And every once in awhile a client surprises us and helps us out in one way or another.

So if you are interested here is the article on the National Pardon Centre in General.

And here is the article about Mr. Charade’s adventures at the US Border.

As always, if you have any questions just give me a shout. I can be reached by email or phone most of the business day.

Sincerely,

Michael Ashby

mashby@nationalpardon.org
514.842.2411 x 227

When it comes to bad service and/or outright scams a lot of people think that the Better Business Bureau will be the answer to all their problems. Unfortunately such is not the case. While the BBB can be a positive venue for dispute settlement the truth is that they have no authority whatsoever to force a settlement, even if one party is clearly in the wrong.

Now, you might want to ask why the National Pardon Centre bothers with a Better Business Bureau membership at all. It is a good question that I have asked myself several times. The truth is that we don’t get many complaints and the ones we do get are dealt with in the office. We are not the kind of organization that screens calls and ignores unhappy clients. At the National Pardon Centre we understand that these applications can be affecting your life in a serious and important way and we do not take that lightly. So when someone contacts us upset because a pardon or waiver is not getting done as fast as it should we always take the time to clearly explain the problem, if there is any.

So why join the Better Business Bureau? We joined the Better Business Bureau because there are some companies in this industry who do not treat their clients the same way we do. And inevitably those companies are NOT a part of the BBB program. While we do not have a great need for dispute resolution (if any at all) it is fairly clear that the companies that have decided to join the BBB are the ones who need it least of all. And that is a good indicator of the reliability of a pardon or waiver service in my opinion. Feel free to visit the

So be careful when choosing your service. While the BBB is not the answer to the potential problems of doing business with a company for the first time it is a reasonably good indicator of the quality of service you are going to receive. My experience in the pardon and waiver business is that anyone doing reliable business online is a member of the BBB. The ones that aren’t are probably worth staying clear of.

If you have any questions concerning this article or any others on this blog feel free to get in touch with me.

Sincerely,

Michael Ashby

Communications Director
514.842.2411 x 227

www.nationalpardon.org