Many Pardon applicants who submitted their applications to the Parole Board of Canada prior to February 23 of 2012 have still not heard a decision regarding their Pardon. This is the result of a staggeringly large backlog of files that have not yet been assigned to officers. Part of this is due to the simple fact that the Parole Board of Canada did not have enough officers on staff to process the amount of applications that were coming in. However, the principle reason for this extended backlog has arisen from a change to the Parole Board of Canada’s fee structure and service standards.
As of February 23, 2012, the application fee for filing a Record Suspension (previously known as a Pardon) increased from $150, to $631. At the time of this increase, the Parole Board of Canada also began to place priority on the files that had paid the newer $631 fee. Pardon Services Canada has steadfastly stated its remonstration against this practice, arguing that it is against Canadian standards of procedural fairness, and due process, and could in fact be construed as unconstitutional behaviour.
Regardless, the reasoning given for this two-tiered approach is that the Parole Board of Canada also set itself new service standards for all files moving forward. Specifically, Record Suspension applications that consisted only of “summary” offences would be processed and granted within 6 months of acknowledgement. Files which contained one or more “indictable” offences would be granted within 12 months.
Unfortunately, this service standard for newer applications resulted in almost completely neglecting the service standards for the older Pardon applications submitted prior to February 23, 2012. As a result, many of these files have stalled and have still not been assigned to officers to undergo the investigation process. However, as of November 19<sup>th</sup>, 2012, this may have changed.
November 19<sup>th</sup> of 2012 marked the start date for a new hiring initiative put into place by the Parole Board of Canada in order to hire a group of officers solely to work through the backlog of older Pardon applications that had paid the $150 fee. The training is expected to last approximately a month, at which point these officers will begin working on this backlog from start to finish. They will be assigning these applications in the order they were submitted, beginning with applications submitted as early as August of 2010. It is still unknown how quickly they will be able to process these applications once they have been assigned.
If you have submitted an application for a Pardon to the Parole Board of Canada prior to February 23 of 2012, either through Pardon Services Canada or not, your Pardon application may very well be a part of this backlog. If it has been taking an excessively long time for your Pardon to be granted, generally that means your application will be waiting to be assigned to one of these new officers. Although we are still unable to give time frames as to when these applications will be granted by the Parole Board of Canada, it is likely that we will have more information on this in the New Year.
For all concerned clients of Pardon Services Canada, be aware that while these applications are still taking a very long time to grant, we do stand by our guarantee that they will be granted providing that the applicant has satisfied all elements of his or her sentence, and meets the “good conduct” requirements as stipulated by the Parole Board of Canada.
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