A Guide to Pardons
 The John Howard Society of Alberta ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Produced by: THE JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY OF ALBERTA First Edition – April 1998 This book was made possible through the generous support of the Alberta Law Foundation. We thank the John Howard Societies in Alberta for their assistance in producing this book. This book gives you general information about pardons. It should not be considered as or form the basis of legal advice of any kind. If you need specific legal advice, you should consult a lawyer.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT PARDONS
INTRODUCTION If you have been convicted of a federal offence, you will have a criminal record. A criminal record can hurt your career, job opportunities and ability to work in certain professions and ability to travel. A pardon removes some of the limitations of having a criminal record. A pardon shows that a person found guilty of a crime has changed his or her life. You can apply to the National Parole Board for a pardon. If the Board gives you a pardon, the record of your conviction will be sealed. This means that any federal agency or department that has a record of your conviction must store your record in a different place than unpardoned records. They cannot show your record to anyone without the Solicitor General of Canada's permission.
APPLICATION PROCESS Applying for a pardon will take a bit of work from you and will cost $50 for the application fee, plus costs for fingerprinting, getting copies of your criminal record and court documents and getting local police records checks. This is what you need to do: 
First, you will need to get a Pardon Application Guide. You can get a guide by calling the National Parole Board's help line: Phone: 1-800-874-2652 (no charge) Or, you can write, telephone or visit the National Parole Board's office in Edmonton: 
National Parole Board Once you have a Pardon Application Guide, you need to complete the following steps. Step 1 You will need to get a copy of your criminal record from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) (see Pardon Application Guide, page 5). First, before you can write to the RCMP for your criminal record, you will need to get a full set of your fingerprints. Your fingerprints have to be taken at a police station or by an accredited fingerprinting agent. Most police services charge fees for fingerprinting, but many First Nations/Metis police do fingerprinting for members for free. Before you go to the police station to get your fingerprints taken, call and ask if you need an appointment, and find out which station(s) do fingerprinting and at what time (see the phone listings at the back of this guide).
It will be about 8 to 10 weeks before you get a copy of your record back from the RCMP. When you get your criminal record from the RCMP, check to make sure all of your convictions are on your record. If your RCMP record lists all of your convictions, go to Step 3, obtaining your Local Police Records Check. If there are some convictions missing from your RCMP record, you will have to get proof of your convictions (Go to Step 2). Or, if the RCMP send your fingerprints back to you and tell you that you don't have a criminal record, this means that your conviction(s) are not on the Canada-wide system. At this point, you should call the police service that arrested you and the court that sentenced you. You want to ask them if they will keep your record separate from other criminal records after you get a pardon. As indicated in the Introduction, a pardon removes a record from CPIC. Local police and courts are then told by the National Parole Board that a pardon has been granted and they usually then separate the local record. However, they do not have to separate the local record. This is why you want to phone and ask the question. If they WILL NOT separate your record, you may not want to bother getting a pardon. In this case, your record already does not appear on the Canada-wide system, and if the local police or court won't hold your records separate, there is no benefit to a pardon. If the local police and court WILL separate your record after a pardon is received, then you should proceed to Step 2, obtaining your proof of convictions and proceed with the pardon application.
Step 2 If your RCMP record does not list all of your convictions, you will have to get proof of those convictions from either the police service that arrested you or the court where your case was heard (see Pardon Application Guide, page 5). You can get this information by going down to the police station or courthouse in person. If you don't know the date you were sentenced, you should go to the police station first to find out the date. You may need to go to several police stations if you committed a number of crimes and were arrested by several different police services. You might be able to get information about your convictions through the mail. In most cases, the police or courts will require you to pay for getting a record of your convictions. Here are some of the fees charged by police services and courts across Alberta for a certified record of your convictions: Courts Alberta courts charge $20 for a certified court record of convictions.
Alexis First Nation Police Service – not
available (go to Stony Plain RCMP)
Step 3 You will also have to get a Local Police Records Check from the police service where you currently live and from the police services of every place you have lived in the past five years (see Pardon Application Guide, page 6). For example, if you live in Edmonton, but you were living in Calgary for a while, you will have to get a check of local police service records from both the Edmonton and Calgary police. You can get this information by going down to the police station. The pardon application booklet has a form for you to fill out and take with you (LOCAL POLICE RECORDS CHECK). You will need a new form for each police service. You can make photocopies of this form before you fill it out. You will have to fill out and sign each form separately. You will need two pieces of ID to show the police when you go to get your records check(s):
The police usually charge a fee for a Local Police Records Check, although many First Nations/Metis police will do this for members for free. You might also be able to get Local Police Records
Checks through the mail. Each police service has its own rules about whether it
will send records checks through the mail. You should call the police service
to find out what ID is needed to get a records check through the mail. The
police service phone numbers are listed at the back of this book. For example,
some police services may ask you to send a photocopy of two pieces of ID, such
as your driver's license and Social Insurance Number. Others may ask you to get
a signed affidavit stating that you are who you say you are. An
affidavit is a written statement signed under oath before a commissioner for
oaths or notary public.
There are some police services that may not do records checks unless you go there in person. The National Parole Board does not expect you to travel across Alberta or around the country to get your local records. If a local police service refuses to send you a records check unless you go there in person and you cannot do so because you live in another city, ask the police service to send you a letter stating that they will not send you a records check unless you go there in person. Include this letter with your pardon application. It will show the National Parole Board that you did everything you could to get a Local Police Records Check (short of travelling to each location).
Step 4 In some cases, you will also need to get proof from the court that you are eligible to apply for a pardon (see Pardon Application Guide, page 7). The Pardon Application Guide has a form (COURT INFORMATION) for you to use. If your cases were heard at different locations, you will need a new form for each court. You can make photocopies of this form before you fill it out. You will have to fill out and sign each form separately. You will need to know your exact sentence date. If you don't know your exact sentence date, you can check the documents you obtained in the previous steps or you can go to the police service that arrested you to find out the date. You ONLY have to get court information IF:
You will have to get proof from the court that your conviction was for a summary conviction offence. This information should be included on your court record of convictions, so if you already paid to get a court record of convictions you shouldn't have to get anything else. If the court does not have proof of payment of your fine, surcharge, restitution or compensation order, you will have to get proof of payment from the person or the organization that you paid. Step 5 This step is for current and past members of the Canadian Forces, including the Canadian Forces Reserves. If you are a member of the Canadian Forces, or were in the past, you will have to get a copy of your military conduct sheet. See the Pardon Application Guide, page 8 for more information. Step 6
You will now have to fill out and sign the PARDON APPLICATION form included in the Pardon Application Guide. See Pardon Application Guide, page 9, for more information. You will need to go to the bank to get a $50 money order, certified cheque or bank draft made payable to the Receiver General for Canada. You are now ready to gather all of your documents for your pardon application and put them in an envelope. You should double-check that you have everything you need for your pardon application. There is a handy checklist in the Pardon Application Guide on page 10. When you are sure that your pardon application is complete, seal the envelope and mail it to:
Clemency and Pardons Division Your pardon application will now go through the following process: NOTE: THIS is a graph that generally outlines our process  Please note that a “Pardon Issued” is purely administrative and a non-discretionary process. The waiting period once you have completed your sentence is 3 years. For an applicant with one or more indictable conviction, they must wait 5 years after end of sentence and also be of good conduct (no suspicion or allegation of criminal activity), and in this case, it is a National Parole Board Member who votes if the pardon is granted or denied. There is no appeal process, If a pardon is denied, the applicant must wait one year from date of decision to reapply. “Completed your sentence” means that you have paid all fines, costs, surcharges, and made restitution and compensation, and completed any order of probation, conditional release, and incarceration (which includes time on parole and statutory release).
ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT PARDONS
You can apply for a pardon if you were convicted of an offence under federal law, were convicted under the National Defence Act, or were convicted of a crime in another country and returned to Canada under the Transfer of Offenders Act. Convictions for offences under provincial laws, such as the Highway Traffic and Liquor Control Acts of Alberta, will not give you a criminal record. You cannot get a pardon for provincial offences. These offences will not show up on CPIC, so you do not need a pardon for these offences. You will not have a criminal record if you were given a conditional or absolute discharge, or if the charges against you were dismissed, stayed or withdrawn. In these cases, you do not need a pardon and cannot apply for a pardon because you have not been convicted of an offence. Absolute discharges are removed from Canada's records system (CPIC) one year after the sentence was given. Conditional discharges are removed from CPIC three years after the sentence was given.
RCMP Or, you can write a letter to the RCMP at the address above and ask them to take the information about your absolute or conditional discharge off CPIC. Be sure to include the following information in your letter:
If you are a Canadian citizen who was convicted of a crime in another country and you were returned to Canada under the Transfer of Offenders Act, you can apply for a pardon. Since you were convicted of a crime in another country, you do not actually have a Canadian criminal record. However, a pardon would seal any other federal administrative files about you, such as Correctional Service of Canada or RCMP files.
It depends. If you were convicted of an offence as a young offender and have not been convicted of any offences as an adult, the record of the offence will be sealed after the following waiting periods have passed:
In these cases, you do not need a pardon for your young offender conviction. If you were convicted of later offences as a young offender, these waiting periods will start from the end of the last disposition (sentence) you were given as a young offender. However, if you were also convicted of an offence as an adult and the above time periods had not passed when you committed the adult offence, you will need a pardon for your young offender conviction because it is now part of your criminal record. Your pardon application will be for both the young offender and adult convictions.
Only if you give them your consent in writing. In Canada, no one can find out if someone else has a criminal record unless the person gives their consent. If you sign a consent form, then employers and others can get a criminal record check done. A criminal record check will only tell if you have a criminal record or not. Any crimes you were convicted of will not be listed. If you have a criminal record, the only way someone can see it is if you get a copy for them. You can get a copy of your criminal record by mailing your fingerprints to the RCMP (see Step 1).
You can apply for a pardon once you have completed all aspects of your sentence and the waiting period. The waiting period to apply for a pardon begins on the date you finished your sentence. If you were sentenced to jail, the waiting period starts from the end of the sentence, not from when you were released on temporary absence, parole or statutory release. If you were on probation, the waiting period starts from the date your probation ended. If you had to pay a fine, the waiting period starts from the date you paid off the fine. The length of your waiting period depends on whether you were convicted of a summary conviction (less serious) offence, or an indictable (more serious) offence:
After these waiting periods have ended, you are eligible to apply for a pardon. However, there are some specific details that you have to be aware of if you had a summary conviction offence. If you were charged with a summary conviction offence and it has been more than three years but less than five years since you completed your sentence, you will need to get written proof from the court that sentenced you that your conviction was a summary conviction offence (see Step 4). If you had a summary conviction offence and you wait the five years after completing your sentence, you do not need to get the written proof that it was a summary conviction offence because you have waited past the longer eligibility date (5 years). The waiting period to apply for a pardon if you were convicted of a crime in another country and were returned to Canada under the Transfer of Offenders Act is five years after you finish your sentence. There are special waiting periods for convictions under the National Defence Act. In most cases, the waiting period is three years after you complete your sentence. However, if you were sentenced to a term of imprisonment over six months, fined over $2000 or dismissed from the service, you will have to wait five years after you complete your sentence to apply for a pardon.
You cannot apply for a pardon until you have completed your entire sentence and the waiting period described in the Pardon Application Guide, page 3. For example, a sentence may have included both probation and a fine. If you completed your term of probation but forgot to pay your fine, the waiting period will not start until you have paid your fine in full. However, you should make sure that the part of your sentence you think you haven't finished is actually part of your sentence. For example, if you were convicted of impaired driving and were supposed to take a one day driving program but failed to do so, you should make sure that the driving program was part of your sentence. You can do this by checking your court documents. If you have any doubts, contact the National Parole Board for assistance. Otherwise, you will have to finish your sentence and then complete the waiting period before you can apply for a pardon.
You need to make sure that your police records are complete and that they include all of your convictions. If the RCMP do not have a complete record of all of your convictions, you will need to get proof of your other convictions from either the police service that arrested you or the court where your case was heard (See Step 2).
Go to the courthouse nearest to the one where you were sentenced. For example, if you were sentenced and paid your fine at the courthouse in Beaverlodge, Alberta which is now closed, you can go to or write to the courthouse in Grande Prairie, Alberta to get proof that you paid your fine. You might want to call the courthouses in your area to find out which one has the records from the couthouse that is closed.
No. You do not need a lawyer to fill out your pardon application. All the forms you will need to fill out your pardon application are included in the Pardon Application Guide. If you need help with your pardon application, you can call the National Parole Board's Clemency and Pardons Division toll free at 1-800-874-2652. You may also be able to get help filling out your pardon application from organizations like the John Howard Society. Check the phone listings at the back of this book for the phone number of your local John Howard Society office. If you decide to hire a lawyer to do your pardon application, the lawyer will charge you a fee for this work.
A pardon is not automatic. Your application will be carefully considered by the National Parole Board. After you mail your completed pardon application, it will take about 20 months before a pardon or rejection will be mailed to you.
If your application for a pardon is rejected, you will be given reasons why. You can apply for a pardon again after one year. However, you should wait a while before you re-apply so that you have time to address the things that caused your first application to be rejected. As a guideline, you should wait at least 18 months to two years before you try again.
If your pardon application is successful, you will get a letter that says that you have been pardoned and that your criminal record has been sealed. A list of your convictions will be attached to the pardon document. All federal agencies and departments will keep your record separate and no one will be able to look at your record without permission from the Solicitor General of Canada. Provincial and municipal police services do not have to seal your records, although most of them will once they know that you have been pardoned.
No, a pardon does not erase a criminal record. A pardoned criminal record is sealed and stored separately from other records. Your record cannot be shown to anyone without the Solicitor General of Canada's permission. This means that the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) will not have any information about pardoned convictions.
No. Once a pardon has been given, a criminal record check will show no evidence that a criminal record ever existed or that a pardon was given. However, if you were convicted of a sexual offence, your name will be flagged on CPIC forever. This means that even if you get a pardon, your criminal record can be revealed if you are applying to work or volunteer with vulnerable groups such as children. You will be able to choose whether to allow your pardoned record to be shown to the place where you applied to work or volunteer.
A pardon will help you if you are applying for a federal government job. Under the Criminal Records Act, employment application forms for federal government jobs cannot ask any questions that could make you tell them that you have a pardoned conviction. Some job applications may ask if you have a criminal record or a conviction for which you have not been given a pardon. Having a pardon will let you answer "no." However, some job applications may only ask if you have ever been convicted of a criminal offence. Even if you have been pardoned for your convictions, you might want to answer "yes - pardoned." For these jobs, a pardon may or may not help you. It is up to the employer to decide if having a pardoned criminal record matters to them.
A pardon does not erase the fact that you were once convicted of a crime. However, a pardon is supposed to show that you have changed your life. How you choose to answer a question about whether you have been convicted of a crime is up to you. Here is one suggestion:
Not necessarily. A pardon will not erase the fact that you were convicted of a crime. Since only federal records of your conviction are sealed, insurance companies that issue bonds may still have access to your criminal record. However, having a criminal record will not necessarily affect your ability to be bonded in the first place. Bonds are a form of insurance against employee theft that is issued by insurance companies. It is up to the insurance company to decide whether you are a good risk.
A pardon has no legal force outside of Canada. Therefore, having a pardon does not necessarily mean that you will be able to travel to the United States (U.S.) or other countries. Each country has its own rules about who is allowed to enter that country. The U.S. and some other countries have access to the CPIC system. The CPIC system is used by these countries to check for a criminal record when someone is entering the country. If a person tries to enter the U.S. and/or applies for a waiver (see below) and is subjected to a criminal records check, United States Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) will enter the information into their own computer system. This means that if a person tries to enter the U.S. in the future, even after getting a pardon, INS will likely have information about their criminal record. The United States does not have to destroy their copy of a Canadian criminal record when a pardon is granted. This means that if the INS entered a person's name into their system in the past, they will still have that person's criminal record even though the record is no longer on Canada's records system (CPIC). In such cases, people with a pardon may want to apply for a waiver (see below). A pardon should be useful for anyone wanting to travel to the United States who (1) has never travelled to the U.S. before or (2) entered the U.S. without their criminal record being checked. A pardon should remove the record from CPIC before INS has a chance to copy the record. However, there have been examples where INS records show that an individual has a "pardoned record." If you are worried about not being able to enter the United States because of your criminal record (whether you have been pardoned or not), you might want to get a waiver of grounds of excludability. A waiver is recommended for anyone travelling to the United States who has a criminal record. A waiver is a document that allows a person with a criminal record to travel to the United States. For example, if you are working as a truck driver and will be crossing the Canada-United States border a lot, you may want to get a waiver to make things easier. If you are unsure whether you need a waiver, you can call the INS to explain your case and see if you should get a waiver:
You can pick up a waiver of grounds of excludability application form (I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability) at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service at the Calgary and Edmonton International Airports. You can also pick up a waiver form at land border crossings. It will cost you $170 U.S. dollars to apply for a waiver. You will have to pay with U.S. cash or a U.S. money order. It will take about six to nine months for INS to decide whether to give you a waiver. If the U.S. gives you a waiver, it will only be valid for one year. Once you get your waiver, you should begin to apply again for next year because of the time it takes to process the application. The waiver application process, like the pardon application process, will require some work from you, including getting fingerprinted and presenting proof of your identity. These steps may also cost money. See the waiver application form for more information.
In emergency situations, such as the death of a family member in the United States, you may be able to get a temporary travel document (humanitarian parole) to allow you to enter the United States while your waiver application is being processed. You will have to fill out an Application for Travel Document (form I-131) and pay an additional $95 U.S. dollars to apply. If your application for a temporary travel document is successful, you will be able to use it to enter the United States while your waiver application is being processed. 
For other countries, you will need to get more information from the consulate office for the country you want to visit. You can get the phone number by looking in your local phone book (yellow pages) under "consulates."
No. You do not need a pardon to get a passport. As long as you have completed your entire sentence, you will be able to get a passport. You will not be able to get a passport if you are on probation or parole. However, having a passport does not necessarily mean you will be able to travel to the United States and other countries.
A pardon is usually for life. However, your pardon can be taken away for a few reasons. Your pardon will be taken away if you are later convicted of an indictable (more serious) offence. Your pardon may also be taken away if:
If your pardon is taken away, your criminal record will be unsealed and others will be able to check it just as they could before you were pardoned.
GLOSSARY Affidavit: A written declaration signed under oath before a commissioner for oaths or notary public. Commissioner for oaths: A person authorized by the province to take affidavits. Consulate office: An office occupied by officials representing a foreign country. Criminal record: A record of convictions for offences defined by the Criminal Code of Canada. Indictable offence: A more serious offence as defined by the Criminal Code of Canada. National Parole Board: A board responsible for making decisions about conditional release and pardons and for making clemency (pardon) recommendations. Notary public: A person authorized by law to take affidavits. Pardon: A document that seals the federal records of someone convicted of a crime. Passport (Canadian): A document that is proof that you are a citizen of Canada. Passports are required for travel outside of Canada. Some countries, such as the United States and Mexico, may accept your birth certificate and a photo ID such as a driver's license as proof that you are a citizen of Canada. Summary conviction offence: A less serious offence as defined by the Criminal Code of Canada. Travel document (humanitarian parole): A temporary document that allows someone with a criminal record to enter the United States while their waiver application is being processed by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. A travel document will only be issued in emergencies such as the death of a family member living in the United States. Waiver of grounds of excludability: A document that allows someone with a criminal record to enter the United States.
KEY PHONE NUMBERS National Parole Board - National Office Clemency and Pardons Division National Parole Board - Edmonton Office Prairies Regional Office RCMP Headquarters Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Commissioner for Oaths/Notary Public Check in your local phone book (yellow pages) under "license and registry services," "lawyers" or "notary public." U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Calgary International Airport – Phone: (403)
221-1730 Consulate Office Check in your local phone book (yellow pages) under "consulates."
Copies of this book are available free of charge by contacting: The John Howard Society of
Alberta
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