Criminal records

Government is considering amnesty for pot convictions

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that the government would consider whether people with simple marijuana possession charges should be pardoned, but only after marijuana legalization is in place. In the meantime, offenders will continue to be charged.

Read more at CBC News

Returning to work after recovery from addiction

A doctor explains what it was like to return to work after being treated for addiction and knowing that colleagues were aware of his past criminal charges.

Read more at Harvard Health Blog

Why a conviction is not always helpful

Although many people thought the young woman who climbed a crane and had to be rescued should receive a stiffer sentence, a blogger explains why a criminal record is not always helpful for society as a whole.

Read more at Yahoo News

Will the government lower fees for pardons?

Over two years into its term, the Canadian government has still not put forward a bill to reform the pardon system. There are many scenarios they could be considering.

Read more at AllCleared

Can you become a pilot with a criminal record?

A person with a criminal record may encounter challenges if they take on an aviation career, but it is still possible to succeed.

Read more at AllCleared

Border issues

Pre-clearance Act raises concerns

A columnist says we need to be concerned about the powers that are being given to US border officials under the new preclearance act, which allows US officials to search and detain travellers on Canadian soil.

Read more at HuffPost

Trump’s offshore drilling plans raise fishing industry concerns

Plans to open the North Atlantic up to offshore drilling have raised concerns about the Georges Bank, a very productive fishing area that straddles the offshore boundary between Canada and the US.

Read more at CBC News

Trade tensions with US affect Canadian dollar

The possibility that the United States could pull out of NAFTA caused the dollar to tumble this week. Canada has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization in an effort to force a deal to be negotiated on softwood lumber.

Read more at the Toronto Star

Border guards rally for better deal

Over 100 members of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) rallied at the Ambassador bridge to call awareness to a lack of progress in negotiations.

Read more at Blackburn News

US updates rules for searching electronics at border

US Border guards can search the electronic devices of travellers, but cannot access information stored on the cloud in most cases according to a new policy directive.

Read more at Global News