There are many arguments to be made in favour of an accessible pardon program. The astonishingly low rate of recidivism is the most important. Since the program began more than 400,000 people have been granted a pardon. The number of people, who subsequently reoffend, most often for minor crimes, amounts to about 4%.

With success in the 96% range there can be no legitimate argument against the effectiveness of a pardon. To think that a social program aiming to rehabilitate offenders into society could do better is to live in a fantasy land where common sense has no place and evidence has no meaning. Canadians demand a better approach.

A pardon is obviously a powerful incentive. If you make a mistake with law you must pay your debt to society. But once that debt is paid, once the sentence is complete, the criminal justice system says that one day you will be eligible to have your criminal record sealed. In other words, if you stay out of trouble with the law, one day a pardon will allow you to look for a job with a hook on the end of your line.

The Conservatives want to take that possibility away for some people, and make the waiting period much longer for the rest.

The former approach fails in the face of common sense. If the debt is paid the punishment is over. But denying the possibility of a pardon and a decent job forever is obviously another form of punishment. And the Conservatives might consider that anyone who receives a lifetime sentence, as handed down by the courts, can never get a pardon anyway.

The latter approach fails due to an absence of evidence. Asking offenders to live a law abiding life before being eligible for a pardon does make sense. Few of us would argue with that. But there is nothing to suggest that the current waiting periods are inappropriate or ineffective. Nothing even close to an argument is being offered, let alone evidence that might support it. With a 96% success rate we have to wonder what it is the Conservatives are trying to accomplish.

Changes to the pardon program, therefore, must be for ideological reasons. It is impossible to arrive at any other conclusion because there is no argument being made and no evidence being offered to support the changes contained in the omnibus crime bill. The Conservative government is simply telling Canadians that these changes will make us safer, that they are the right thing to do. We just have to trust them.

The problem is the lives this will affect and the families that will continue to struggle. I have spoken to many people who are just about to get things back on track. They would become eligible in the next few months for a pardon after completing their sentence and having had no trouble with the law for quite some time. But when the omnibus crime bill passes the hopes of a pardon and a decent job go out the window, for quite some time. Why? We can’t say. It’s just because the Conservatives want it that way. Try telling that to someone struggling to find work.

The Conservative government needs to reconsider its position on pardons. It should try to understand that people really can change. But most of all the Conservative government, being the party of fiscal responsibility, should recognize what a decent job does for the life of someone trying to build a positive future.

We’ve all made mistakes. Whether you were caught shoplifting, smoking marijuana or was caught up in a bar fight years ago, you now have a criminal record that prevents you from realizing your career potential. Yes, there is a solution to this common problem, a National Pardon.

Applying for a pardon before you become eligible is important. A pardon will seal your criminal record and your past will not be revealed to employers, even during a background check.

Pardon applications are submitted to and approved by the Parole Board of Canada and involve a lot of tedious, intricate paperwork. Meeting your pardon eligibility requirements and processing the necessary paperwork correctly is the key to securing a National Pardon.

Once your pardon is granted your criminal record is removed and kept separate from active criminal records. This means employers will not be able to review your past criminal history.

The National Pardon Centre specializes in securing pardons for our clients. We are experts at completing and filing applications with the Parole Board of Canada to ensure a successful outcome.

Don’t miss out on future employment opportunities. Apply for your pardon today!

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

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