The National Pardon Centre™

I was reading an article the other day about how the Russian search engine Yandex is gaining in popularity. Of course it will never rival google for any of us here in the English speaking world but nonetheless I couldn’t resist searching “National Pardon Centre” just to see what popped up. Well here you are. The best I could get was an image result of our old logo.

I am not sure if this post has any value whatsoever in the world of pardons but I still like the idea of our website floating around in Russian cyberspace. So if you speak Russian and have a criminal record in Canada we will do our best to help you out. But your application for a Canadian pardon or US entry waiver will have to be done in French or English.

The pardon services industry slows down considerably in the summer which is good for vacation time but bad for business. It is understandable that fewer people have a pardon or waiver on their mind. When the sun is out and the weather is warm most of us are focusing on vacation and barbecues. We don’t want to be bothered with the hassle of getting an old criminal record removed. But summer is actually the best time to get started.

In summer time you can feel assured that the team at NPC is not overwhelmed with paperwork. You can come visit one of our offices and be assured that you will not have to wait to see a counsellor. When we send your fingerprints to the RCMP there is a good chance they will be returned faster than usual and even the court system is liable to send us court documents a little quicker than they would during the busy season.

And to top it all off there is an excellent chance that when summer is over your pardon will be done and you will be able to get back to work, school, whatever feeling confident because your criminal record and the mistakes you made in the past will have been left behind.

It’s easy to procrastinate in the summertime. But it only takes a little bit of effort to get your pardon underway. And come September you will be happy that you did.

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!

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.