The National Pardon Centre™

I receive a considerable number of calls from people who have status under the Indian Act wondering about what this means in terms of US entry privileges. The simple answer is that holding a Status Card does NOT entitle you to cross the border if you are otherwise inadmissible.

I think the confusion lies in that a Status Card used to be accepted as a valid travel document (just as a driver’s license used to be all you needed to cross the border). Some Ports of Entry will still accept a Status Card but as of 2011 no exceptions will be made and you will need to present a Secure Certificate of Indian Status in order to be allowed into the US. A Secure Certificate of Indian Status replaces a passport but just as a passport would not give me the right to cross the border if I had a criminal record, a US border guard will still refuse you entry if you only present a SCIS and you have a history of criminal convictions.

That being said, the Jay Treaty of 1794 does acknowledge certain travel rights for First Peoples. Essentially, you must be able to satisfy a 50% blood quantum requirement in order to be entitled to cross the border regardless of your criminal history. You should present an official letter from your First Nation or Band or Tribe detailing your ancestry so that the admitting customs officer can determine that you have at least 50% indigenous blood. If you can provide that letter, then you should be able to travel across the border without any trouble, even if you have a serious criminal record. If you cannot obtain such a letter (or if you have less than 50% indigenous blood) then you have no choice but to apply for an Entry Waiver if you wish to cross the border.

Please feel free to contact me personally if you have specific questions about your case.

Hi Everyone,

By now you have probably heard that the Harper government pushed through Bill C-23A last week. And while the law has yet to receive Royal Assent, it is more or less a certainty that the pardon system will see some major changes. Understandably you will want to know how these changes will affect you.

The new law is complex, but I will simplify the main points as best as I can.

If there is one piece of good news it is that if your pardon is already being reviewed by the Parole Board at the time that the new law takes effect, it will be evaluated under the old eligibility guidelines.

Anyone whose application has not yet been received by the Board will be subject to the following rules:

Sexual Offences: Anyone with a conviction for an indictable sexual offence now has to wait 10 years from the completion of their sentence before they become eligible to apply for a pardon. Anyone with a summary sexual offence on their record must now wait 5 years. We have to contact the courts to confirm that an offence was indictable but as a rule only VERY minor offences are summary.

Violent Offences: If you were sentenced to serve a jail term of 2 years or more for a violent indictable offence, you will now have to wait 10 years from the completion of your sentence before you become eligible for your pardon. This also applies to offences where the threat of violence was used or where the victim was likely to experience “severe psychological damage”.

In order to clarify here are some examples:

EXAMPLE: Pauline has an indictable aggravated assault conviction and was given a 3 year jail sentence. She has to wait 10 years from the date that her sentence ended before she can apply for her pardon.

EXAMPLE: Richard has an indictable aggravated assault conviction and was given a 1 year jail sentence. He only has a 5 year waiting period.

EXAMPLE: Nathan has an indictable sexual assault conviction and was sentenced to 6 months in jail. He will have to wait 10 years before becoming eligible for his pardon.

EXAMPLE: Beth has a summary sexual assault conviction and was placed on probation for 2 years. She now has to wait 5 years before she becomes eligible.

The Parole Board has also been given the right to refuse to grant a pardon if doing so would “bring the administration of justice into disrepute.” This is the clause that the government included to prevent Karla Homolka from getting her pardon. I think that the Board will be very careful in exercising this power and that this new provision should NOT affect the vast majority of pardon applicants. However, we will have to see how this plays itself out.

The law is obviously more complicated than what I have outlined above. If you have any doubts about your eligibility, then please contact a counselor at the National Pardon Centre so that we can discuss your case with you.

If these changes have affected you or someone you know, you should write to your Member of Parliament and tell your story. Find out who your MP is by clicking here:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/houseofcommons/memberbypostalcode.aspx?menu=hoc

Le Centre du Pardon National prévoit faire pression sur le gouvernement dans l’espoir de faire amender certaines des modifications législatives proposées à la Loi sur les casiers judiciaires, le projet de loi C-23. Comme nous sommes presque certains que ce projet de loi sera adopté d’une façon ou d’une autre, nous tenterons de sauver autant que possible le programme de pardon existant.   

Pour ce faire, nous avons besoin de vos histoires. Comment un pardon vous a-t-il aidé (ou aidé quelqu’un de votre entourage) à remettre votre vie en ordre et à vous prévenir contre d’autres activités criminelles ? Veuillez s’il vous plaît laisser vos commentaires afin de nous aider. Vous pouvez le faire de manière anonyme si vous le désirez, mais si vous êtes suffisamment à l’aise pour laisser un nom partiel ou complet cela nous aidera encore davantage.

The National Pardon Centre plans to lobby the government in the hope of amending some of the proposed legislative changes to the Criminal Records Act; Bill C-23. Since we are fairly certain this bill will pass in one form or another we are going to try and save as much of the existing pardon program as we can.

In order to do this we need your stories. How did a pardon help you, or someone you know, get life back on track and prevent further criminal activity? Please leave your comments. Anonymous is ok but if you are comfortable leaving a full or partial name it helps that much more.