The legislation to replace the current pardon system includes the following reforms:

1. The elimination of pardons, to be replaced by more restrictive and narrowly worded "record suspensions"
2. Those convicted of sexual offences against minors will be permanently ineligible for a record suspension
3. Those convicted of three or more indictable offences – the more serious offences such as aggravated assaults -- will also be permanently ineligible for a record suspension
4. The periods of ineligibility for record suspension after a sentence has been served will be increased. For summary conviction offences, it will be a five-year wait, while more serious offences – indictable offences – the wait will be 10 years
5. The onus will be moved to the applicant to show that a record suspension will help sustain his or her rehabilitation

As you can see there will be significant changes to the eligibility process.  The one that will affect most Canadians is having to wait 5 years for a Summary Conviction instead of the current 3 years and waiting 10 years for an Indictable Conviction instead of the current 5 years to be eligible for a "Record Suspension".

The 3 Strike Rule:  3 serious indictable offenses and you will permanently be ineligible to apply for a Pardon. 

Nothing is set in stone yet, this is still just a proposal.  It will take time for this law to pass and even if it does pass, expect some changes to the proposed items listed above.

If you have yet to apply for a Pardon we highly suggest that you do so as soon as possible.  We do not want to be fear mongers but it may be some time until you get another chance at a Canadian Pardon.  Getting a Record Suspension may be a tough task in the future.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Tomorrow the Canadian Government is introducing new legislation that will make it harder for a person to receive a Pardon.  This is cause for concern for a lot of Canadians out there who have made mistakes in life and are wishing to change their lives.  It’s because of a few bad apples Canadians are afraid that they will not be able to get a second chance at life.

The proposed legislation will make it harder for a repeat violent offender to receive a Canadian Pardon.   Judging from the uproar of the Canadian Government lately, we can only right now assume a person who commits the act of murder or sexual assault they shall be considered a violent offender.   

Exactly what other crimes constitute a "violent offender"?  That, we have yet to find out.

But what we can tell you is 99% of the people who request for a Canadian Pardon with Pardon Granted in our opinion are not considered a violent offender.  Most individuals who seek for a Pardon are not re-offenders of the same crime anyways.  These individuals have reformed.  They have learned their lessons and are looking to obtain a second chance. 

At this point the eligibility requirements for a Pardon still stand. As long as you can show that you have been a person of "good conduct" in the past 3-5 years then you are eligible for a Pardon.  But we will have to wait until tomorrow to see which crimes fall into this violent offender category which will create another set of eligibility criteria for the Pardon system.