Category: Pardon
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Pardons Canada – Bringing the administration of justice into disrepute
One of the more problematic changes to the pardon system brought about by Stephen Harper’s omnibus crime bill was granting the Parole Board the power to refuse a pardon for any reason whatsoever. Specifically – or vaguely depending on how you look at it – the Board can refuse to order a record suspension if…
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Fingerprinting for a Pardon or Waiver
The process for a Canadian pardon and a US entry waiver both begin with the same procedure – fingerprinting. The purpose of fingerprinting is to retrieve your criminal record from the RCMP. Since it is possible to falsely identify someone based on name and date of birth alone, the RCMP requires you to submit fingerprints,…
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Pardon Program – Response from the Minister of Justice
The email below is from Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould in response to the email I sent her concerning changes to the pardon program. It is kindly worded and thoughtful and it strikes me as being the polar opposite of what Vic Toews would have written on the same subject. For the record I hope to work…
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The Tories Were Wrong on Pardons
It’s hard to imagine a Canadian government more incompetent on social issues than the Federal Conservatives were on criminal justice. Take the pardon program for example. Under the leadership of Stephen Harper changes were made to the pardon system that cut the number of applicants by more than half. From 2012 to 2015 requests dropped…
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Get a Pardon after Being Deported for a Criminal Record
More than 10,000 people are deported from Canada every year. There are many reasons why a visitor, asylum seeker, permanent resident, etc might be deported. but any non citizen convicted of a criminal offence in Canada will be prevented from re-entering the country until they have received a pardon (also known as a record suspension).…
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Breaking News – Liberals Announce Pardon Overhaul
Great news! Today Ralph Goodale, Public Safety Minister, announced a plan to overhaul Canada’s pardon system which was made, in Goodale’s words, more punitive under the Conservative government. I couldn’t agree more. The changes to the pardon system were done purely for political reasons and I believe the Conservative government should be ashamed of its…
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Blog Testimonials – Pardon Legislation – AS
Since the Liberal Victory I have been receiving emails from people willing to tell their story about how the Conservative government’s changes to the pardon program unfairly held them back. The story always seems to be the same. These people made mistakes but they changed and wanted to turn their lives around. But instead of…
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Fingerprinting for a Pardon
Often our clients are confused about the fingerprinting procedures for a pardon / record suspension application. Since their fingerprints were taken during the arrest they often wonder why their fingerprints need to be taken again. Fingerprinting for a pardon is strictly for identification purposes. When you are arrested the fingerprints are taken on criminal fingerprinting…
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DUI, drunk driving is our most common criminal charge
I’ve written about this topic before but after coming across a Sun News article about the number of holiday drivers arrested for drunk driving it is an important matter to bring up, again. Getting a pardon for a DUI is the same as getting a pardon for any other criminal charge. Here’s how it work…
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Blog Testimonials – Pardon Legislation – Randy Gray
I seem to be getting a lot of people interested to know if the Liberal’s are going to change the pardon laws. Unfortunately I don’t have an answer yet since the Justice Minister has a lot on her plate. Plus it’s holiday time so the government isn’t doing anything. But keep watching because as soon…