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Preparing a record suspension application for the Parole Board of Canada

Preparing a record suspension application for the Parole Board of Canada

One envelope to Ottawa, and what has to be in it

A record suspension, still called a pardon by most people, is ordered by the Parole Board of Canada under the Criminal Records Act. There is no hearing. The Board decides on paper, from an application mailed to its Clemency and Record Suspension Division with original court and police documents inside.

Karb Law prepares that application: it orders and checks the records, fills in the forms with the applicant, and keeps the file until the Board decides. Angelina Shuster is a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, and this is application work, not representation at a hearing. This page is general information about the process. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create a paralegal-client relationship.

The date of the first offence picks the waiting period

The Board applies the version of the Act that was in force when the first offence was committed. Since March 19, 2020, the 2010 and 2012 changes are no longer applied to older offences. Every period starts only once the whole sentence is complete, including probation, fines, victim surcharges and restitution.

  1. Before June 29, 2010

    3 years summary 5 years indictable

  2. June 29, 2010 to March 12, 2012

    3 or 5 years summary 5 or 10 years indictable

    The longer figures apply to Schedule 1 offences and to a serious personal injury offence with a sentence of two years or more.

  3. On or after March 13, 2012

    5 years summary 10 years indictable

When the court papers do not show whether the Crown went by indictment or summarily, the Board uses the longer period. That is why the route the Crown chose, explained in our article on what a summary offence means, gets confirmed from the court record first. The article on when the waiting period starts works through the dates in more detail.

Ten items in the Board's order, and who issues each one

  1. 1Record Suspension Application FormApplicant
  2. 2Criminal record from the RCMP, after fingerprints taken by an accredited company or a police service and marked as being for a record suspensionRCMP
  3. 3Court Information Form, with proof and date of the last payment of any fine, surcharge or restitutionEach sentencing court
  4. 4Military Conduct Sheet, only for present or past members of the Canadian Armed ForcesDefence or Library and Archives Canada
  5. 5Local Police Records Check, for the current address and every place lived in for three months or more during the last five yearsLocal policeValid 12 months
  6. 6Copy of government ID showing name, date of birth and signatureApplicant
  7. 7Schedule 1 Exception Form, only for a Schedule 1 conviction with a first offence from March 13, 2012Applicant
  8. 8Measurable Benefit and Sustained Rehabilitation Form, with questions 1 to 3 required when the first offence was on or after June 29, 2010Applicant
  9. 9Processing Fee Form and paymentApplicant
  10. 10Applicant Consent and Privacy FormApplicantValid 12 months

The RCMP, each court and each police service work on their own schedules, so items 5 and 10 are the ones to watch: a police check issued early can pass its 12 months while a court form is still on its way. When a conviction is missing from the RCMP record, a Proof of Conviction from the court or the arresting police fills the gap. The Board's list is on its application page, and the police check levels an employer may ask for are set out in our article on what each level of police record check shows.

What the Criminal Records Act rules out for offences from March 13, 2012

A Schedule 1 offence

Schedule 1 lists sexual offences involving a child. A conviction for one of them makes a person ineligible, with one narrow exception: the Board can still consider an application when it is satisfied on three points set out in the Act, among them that the person was less than five years older than the victim. Item 7 of the list above is the form that makes that case.

More than three indictable offences

A person convicted of more than three offences prosecuted by indictment, each with a prison sentence of two years or more, is ineligible. Summary convictions and shorter sentences do not count toward this limit.

Two situations need no application at all. An absolute or conditional discharge, and a finding only under the youth criminal justice law, are dealt with by the rules for those records.

From the day the Board opens the envelope

  1. Screening

    Staff check that every item is there, that the documents are originals and that the waiting period has passed. An incomplete application goes back to the sender, and the processing clock has not started.

  2. Acceptance

    Once it is accepted as eligible and complete, the Board's published targets run: within 6 months for summary offences and within 12 months for indictable ones.

  3. Review of the waiting years

    Section 4.1 of the Act asks whether the person was of good conduct and had no new conviction during the waiting period. For offences from June 29, 2010, the Board also weighs the measurable benefit and the sustained rehabilitation described in item 8.

  4. Decision or a proposal to refuse

    Before refusing, the Board must tell the applicant in writing and give the chance to answer in writing, personally or through a representative. A file at this stage can take up to 24 months in total.

At the fourth step the firm prepares the written representations: what the Board said, what the record and the conduct since then show, and the documents behind each point. These are submissions on paper to the same Board, inside the application.

After the order: a CPIC search, an immigration file, and what stays

Kept apart from the national database

The record is taken out of the Canadian Police Information Centre, so an ordinary CPIC search no longer shows it. The order sets the conviction aside without erasing it.

For a permanent resident, section 36(3)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act stops a Canadian conviction that has a record suspension in force from being the basis of inadmissibility. Where an officer is already looking at a conviction, our criminal inadmissibility practice deals with it alongside the application.

Where the paralegal's work sits in this file

The file starts with the dates: the first offence, the end of each sentence and the last payment. From those the firm sets which version of the Act applies, orders the RCMP record and the court forms, reads them against each other, and drafts the rehabilitation form in the applicant's own account. It mails the finished packet when the two 12-month items are still well inside their window, and answers the Board if it writes back. The office at 10211 Yonge Street in Richmond Hill works in English and Russian. Some people with a record also have an immigration file open. Our legal team assists with the full range of your matter, including applications filed with IRCC.

Sentence dates and a copy of any court paper can be sent through the free assessment form. Other questions can go to the office through the contact page.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is a pardon the same thing as a record suspension in Canada?

Yes. Parliament replaced the word pardon with record suspension in 2012. Pardons granted before then are still in effect, and new applications to the Parole Board of Canada are made under the record suspension rules of the Criminal Records Act.

Can a paralegal prepare a record suspension application in Ontario?

Yes. A record suspension is an application decided on paper by the Parole Board of Canada, not a court case. A paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario can prepare the forms, gather the records and send written representations to the Board.

How long does the Parole Board of Canada take to decide?

Its published targets count from the day an application is accepted as eligible and complete: within 6 months for summary offences, within 12 months for indictable offences, and up to 24 months when the Board proposes to refuse.

Which documents expire before the application is mailed?

The Local Police Records Check and the Applicant Consent and Privacy Form are each valid for 12 months. If either is older than that when the Board receives the packet, a new one is needed before the application can go forward.

Does a record suspension help with a Canadian immigration file?

For a permanent resident, section 36(3)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act says a Canadian conviction with a record suspension in force cannot be the basis of inadmissibility. It does not change how other countries treat the record.

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