The National Pardon Centre™

I would like to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year for 2012. The past couple of years presented a lot of challenges in the pardon business due to the Conservative government’s assault on criminal justice (this was the phrase of a colleague I could not resist re-using). Although Bill C23-B has not yet passed it is included in the omnibus crime bill that has had the criminal justice community shaking its collective head for some time now.

We expect the crime bill to pass in the next few months and I personally do not have a lot of hope that anything to do with pardons will be amended. I am sure that if the bill passes in its current form we will see a number of charter challenges filed very soon after but I do not know of anyone with the resources or inclination to challenge the pardons section.

So I am sure we can expect pardons to become record suspensions in the next few months. If the bill ended there it would not be so bad since a simple name change doesn’t affect anyone in any real way. Unfortunately the bill contains some very real measures which will make it more difficult and take much longer for people to obtain a pardon. And in some extreme cases a pardon or record suspension will no longer be available at all.

Of course there is still time to make our voices heard. Contact your local MP and express your dissatisfaction with the current government and its stance on crime. There is no shortage of criticism for this bill. But unfortunately the Conservative government is happy to ignore just about all of it.

Happy new year to all!

Michael Ashby

mashby@nationalpardon.org

An interesting development came out of a quick trip to Ottawa yesterday. I was invited by John Hutton of the John Howard society to attend a press conference denouncing the Conservative’s Omnibus Crime Bill C-10, specifically the section that deals with pardons.

Bill C-10 contains a measure to deny pardons to anybody convicted of more than three indictable offences. However, the way this particular section of the bill was written leaves it open to interpretation, although it is not quite as ambiguous as I originally thought.

Language is a tricky thing to manage. A simple comma can change the meaning of an entire paragraph.

See the section on three strikes below. When I originally read this measure online I could not see the comma preceding requirement that each offence be sentenced to more than 2 years in prison (printed in italics below). Without the comma the 2 years could apply to both the indictable offence criteria AND the service offence criteria, or to only the service offence. As it stands I now believe that the two years or more applies to both. But I could be wrong. Language is a tricky thing.

 Here is the clause. Have a read and make your own decision on its actual meaning:

(2) Subject to subsection (3), a person is ineligible to apply for a record suspension if he or she has been convicted of

• (b) more than three offences each of which either was prosecuted by indictment or is a service offence that is subject to a maximum punishment of imprisonment for life, and for each of which the person was sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more.

Three strikes is still a remarkably short sighted social policy. But I can personally confirm that hundreds of our clients we thought would be ineligible for a pardon will remain eligible. And it’s all because of a comma in a paragraph.

Of course that is how I am interpreting the bill. It could probably be debated. Perhaps it’s a conversation to be saved for a Charter challenge.  

With a Conservative majority government the crime bill is certain to be one of the first measures to be pushed through parliament. Although the pardons issue is not at the forefront of the crime issue it is still important. I have been following Bill C23 since it first appeared in the house so here are my expectations on what we can expect to see in the Tory crime bill. They have pledged to pass this legislation within 100 days of achieving a majority.

The chances are good that the pardons side of the new bill will read exactly as Bill C23-B currently does. If so we know exactly what to expect. This will not mean the end of pardons but it will exclude a fair number of people from the program.

But there is an alternative possibility. With a Conservative majority it is possible that Harper could soften his approach slightly and make some amendments to the crime legislation. If that is the case the following is what I would expect from the new crime bill regarding pardons.

I am fairly confident about the following changes to the pardon program will take place even if the details of Bill C23-B are amended.

*The term pardon will be replaced with record suspension (this is purely symbolic and not very important, people will continue using the term pardon)

*Sexual offences involving children will be ineligible for a pardon

*Serious criminals will be ineligible for a pardon (how they will define serious criminal is still up for grabs but the 3 strikes rule might remain and that would be the definition)

*Fee increase is certain to happen. The fee is currently $150 but will be increased to $631 (so if you need a pardon get going NOW!)

The following are some items that could perhaps be amended if theTories decide to take a more moderate approach.

*Changing the waiting periods from what they are now to 5 and 10 years (it is remotely possible that the waiting periods will be left alone, but I am not confident about this)

*The 3 strikes rule (it is possible this will be amended as there were even Conservatives who opposed this measure)

With a little luck we might see a softer approach now that Harper doesn’t have anything to prove. He is PM, for the next four years with no risk of a hasty election.

The bottom line about the Tory majority is that if you need a pardon get it started ASAP. Nothing is guaranteed anymore and there is a decent chance that if you start a pardon today we could get it into the Parole Board before the changes take place.

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.