By now most people know that you have to pay your fine before you will be able to apply for your pardon. It’s common sense but sometimes people don’t understand that a fine is a part of your sentence. Since it is you have to pay it before the courts will consider your sentence completed. […]
Today a news story broke about a 15 year old girl in Quebec City being strip searched by the principal because she was suspected of selling marijuana to a friend. Is this what reefer madness has come to? Apparently the law allows grown men – in positions of authority no less – to force a […]
Many Canadians live abroad. And often those very same Canadians need an RCMP certified criminal record background check. There are many reasons you might require this from job applications to immigration procedures but whatever the reason getting your fingerprints taken in another country can be a difficult process. It doesn’t help matters that the fingerprints […]
People who were arrested and were proven innocent, or had charges against them dropped, should not think that the worst is over. Thousands of Canadians are discovering that non-conviction records of even trivial contact with police can follow them for years and prevent them from obtaining visas or travelling freely to the US. Unfortunately a […]
One of the more common charges we see here at the National Pardon Centre falls under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Most commonly we deal with marijuana convictions but we also see cocaine, hallucinogens and the rest of it. Interestingly enough it’s actually quite rare to see a possession charge all on its own, but […]
When do Criminal Records Expire? When do criminal records expire? Unfortunately the answer is never, or at least not until you are old enough that you probably don’t care anyway. If you really just want to wait until it goes away you will be waiting a long time. The RCMP will maintain your criminal record […]
How and Why to Get a Background Check in Canada At the National Pardon Centre we meet people everyday whose criminal records have recently had an extremely negative effect on their lives. Careers get derailed, travel plans get ruined and/or years of educational training can suddenly be jeopardized. We know the harmful impact that a […]
Remaining conviction-free is not the only requirement that must be met in order for a pardon to be granted. All individuals wishing to obtain a record suspension must also demonstrate that they have maintained a period of good conduct for a pre-determined period of time following completion of their sentence. Under the Criminal Records Act […]
Ever think you were right when most people thought you were wrong? It’s happened to me but luckily it was never a situation that ended with me being arrested. An arrest however, is just what happened to a BC woman turned anti-mountain biking activist when two citizens filmed her intentionally sabotaging a network of trails in […]
It looks like the Conservative government is getting tough on crime again which is not surprising since we are approaching an important election. They now want a life sentence to mean life behind bars, forever. It’s very expensive to incarcerate someone so this is unlikely to be popular with the experts in criminal justice. There […]
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