Record Suspension
The Conservatives omnibus crime bill passed on March 12, 2012. The various pieces of legislation have yet to take effect so at the moment a record suspension is still called a pardon. But in the near future the name will be changed and Canadians will be applying for a record suspension rather than a pardon.
Aside from some changes to the rules governing who is eligible for pardon and when, a record suspension and a pardon are the same thing. Please beware of some of our less sincere competitors who have used this legislation as a means of making a quick sale. I have received many complaints that people were told pardons would no longer be available. This is simply not true. To say it again, a record suspension is the same thing as a pardon.
So what did change as a result of the Conservative’s omnibus crime bill?
1. Pardons will be renamed to Record Suspension.
2. Waiting periods for eligibility will be extended from the current 3, 5 or 10 years to 5 or 10 years.
3. Record suspensions for sexual offences involving a minor will no longer be permitted.
4. Anyone convicted of more than 3 indictable offences where the sentence was more than two years in prison for EACH offence will be ineligible for a record suspension.
Taken as a whole the bill was a lot more about politics than effecting sensible policy. The name change is purely ceremonial. Since it has no effect on the lives of people who are just trying to get on the right track I have no problem with it.
Making sexual offenders ineligible is obviously going to be a popular measure but it is one I don’t support having actually looked at the evidence.
Sexual offenders re-offend at a low rate and since they remain forever flagged in a separate database, granting a record suspension in order to obtain a decent job seems like just plain common sense.
If the purpose of this kind of legislation is to keep children safe I would have preferred to see a measure that required groups working with children to screen applicants through the appropriate background checks that would reveal a sexual offence. Unfortunately such a thing was not discussed which, in my opinion says a lot about the Conservative’s government stance when it comes to safety.
The three strikes rule is such notoriously bad policy, having failed in pretty much every place on earth. I have trouble understanding how an educated person could propose it, let alone an elected government official whose job it is to understand criminal justice. Yet here we are. Three strikes and you’re out. Batter up!
The change that will affect our clients the most is the increase in waiting periods. A record suspension will demand 5 or 10 years pass before the person can finally put things in the past and find a decent job. It’s punishment over rehabilitation, a measure which is sure to backfire.
I would just like to congratulate the Conservative government. Through bullying and pressure tactics and because it has a majority it was able to pass nine separate pieces of crime legislation that is sure to put Canada on a path similar to the United States. That country has more people per capita incarcerated than anywhere else in the world. It’s a clear indication of policy that has failed to do what it was supposed to. Â Stephen Harper, Rob Nicholson and Vic Toews are no doubt very proud of that accomplishment.
Strange days indeed.