Last week, the Parole Board of Canada announced that they will not be processing more than 5,800 pardon applications that were submitted to the Board prior to March 2012, when significant changes were made to the Canadian pardon system. The Parole Board’s justification is that they do not have the funding or resources necessary to process these outstanding applications, and have provided no indication of when or if these applications will be processed.
This decision is unacceptable, unfair and unjust. The Parole Board has left thousands of Canadians in limbo, with no indication on if or when these applications will ever be processed. It is outrageous that Canadians, who had applied for a pardon in good faith and paid the $150 filing fee, are now being told by the Parole Board three years later that their application will no longer be processed and they will need to withdraw and pay $631 to apply for a record suspension under the new regulations.
We have been struggling with this issue for many months now and it has only gotten worse. The fact that 5,800 Canadians are being told their pardon applications, which they already paid for, may now not be processed is totally unacceptable.
The people we assist are just ordinary Canadians working hard to put their past behind them and move on with their lives. We are calling on the Minister of Public Safety to immediately step in and provide the Parole Board with the funds they need to clear this backlog and process these 5,800 applications quickly and efficiently.
Thank you for standing up to represent your clients, who have been patiently waiting for three years for the Canadian government to do the right thing here, and get this unacceptable backlog of pardon applications processed!
What are you currently recommending for someone who has filed a pardon application and is in the 3-year backlog queue? Should they continue to wait patiently for who knows how long or should they withdraw and re-do their application and pay the new fee and then wait up to 12 months for the new pardon application to be processed? Since obtaining an RCMP records check takes 3 – 6 months, the applicant is really looking at a 15 – 18 month timeframe for obtaining a pardon, if they withdraw their current application and apply under the new rules. Do you think the Canadian government might step up and do the right thing sooner than that?
Hi Wendy – thanks for your comment and support.
You’ve hit the nail on the head. The people affected by this backlog are trapped in an untenable catch-22 situation – they either have to wait indefinitely for their original pardon application to be processed (with no guarantee that it ever will be processed), or they withdraw their application and apply for a record suspension under the new regulations.
There are a couple of things to note about this scenario: 1) The Parole Board charges $631 to apply for a record suspension under the new system, an amount we feel is unfair and adds an unnecessary barrier to Canadians trying to put their past behind them. 2) If you withdraw your pardon application and re-apply for a record suspension, the Parole Board will not refund the $150 you had originally paid to apply in 2010. We feel this is simply a money grab on the part of the Parole Board, and we’ve said so in the media and in our conversations with government officials.
That said, though we believe this situation is unjust, we are recommending that our clients withdraw their pardon applications and apply for a record suspension under the new system. If you are a current client of ours and are affected by the backlog, please give us a call toll-free at 1-8-NOW-PARDON. We would be happy to discuss the options with you in further detail.
We will continue to serve as strong advocates on behalf of our clients, and will continue to pressure the Minister of Public Safety and the Parole Board to address this issue. We are asking our clients to write their MPs and the Minister to let them know how this unfair situation is affecting them. Together, we can make a difference.