Parole Board of Canada Changes to Pardon Program
Source: http://www.pbc-clcc.gc.ca/prdons/c23b-eng.shtml
Amendments to the Criminal Records Act (CRA) came into effect on March 13, 2012, resulting in changes to the Pardon program’s name, eligibility requirements, and waiting periods, as follows:
- The term “pardon” is replaced with the term “record suspension”;
- The waiting period for a record suspension has increased to 5 years for all summary conviction offences and to 10 years for all indictable offences;
- Individuals convicted of sexual offences against minors (with certain exceptions) and those who have been convicted of more than three indictable offences, each with a sentence of two or more years, are now ineligible for a record suspension.
IMPORTANT: Applications received on or before March 12, 2012, will be accepted for processing as “pardon” applications under the former CRA, as long as they are deemed to be eligible and complete by the PBC at the time of receipt.
All applications received as of March 13, 2012 will be processed as a “record suspension” under the new CRA.