How to get a pardon in Canada - Step 2

In my last article, I discussed the first step in completing an application for a pardon with the Canadian government. Here now, we discuss the second step, obtaining court documents and proof of convictions.

If you have not already done so, the first step in obtaining your pardon is to have your fingerprints taken and to obtain a certified copy of your criminal record from the RCMP Identification Services in Ottawa. A low-cost professional service like Express Pardons can help expedite this step for you if you need to have your pardon completed as quickly as possible. Otherwise, you will have to send your request to:

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Identification Services, Civil Section
PO Box 8885 Ottawa, ON K1G 3M8

Now that you have received your CPIC criminal record, you need to review the document to see if there are any criminal records missing. As I mentioned in my previous post, in about 15% of cases, their will be offences missing. This is especially the case with offences more than 20 years old. The Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system has gone through many change over the years. In the past, a lot of criminal information was held locally, but was not uploaded onto the systems like CRIMS which populate the CPIC system with data.

It is very important to understand that criminal records can be held on numerous systems. You could have a criminal record on one system but not another, meaning you might think you are clear one day, then fail a criminal record check the next. Read my other article on some suggested reading on criminal record systems which you may find useful in understanding some of the larger systems out there.

If your criminal record from CPIC comes back blank, meaning "no criminal record", this DOES NOT NECESSARILY mean you do not have a criminal record. It only means you do not have a record accessible by CPIC. You must find all of your criminal records by doing a multi-level criminal record search. That means searching CPIC, but also local police files and the provincial courts.

This is one of the crucial benefits of using a professional service to handle your case. Services such as Express Pardons have connections with virtually every police and court in Canada and they know the criminal record systems across the country. If you believe an offence is missing from your criminal record, the first step is to attend the court where the conviction occurred and request a proof of conviction.

The National Parole Board will want a certified true copy of the original "court information" document from your trial. The court will have this document in court archives. You will have to make the request, and pay any applicable fee, then wait until the court can order and receive the document from archives before making a certified copy for your pardon.

If the court cannot locate the offence, you have two options. First, if the offence does not appear on your CPIC criminal record, your local police record checks, and cannot be found by the court, then time has afforded you the benefit of having that offence pardoned anyway. Otherwise, if you wish to have it included in your pardon, you can prepare and complete a sworn affidavit to have the offence(s) considered for your pardon by the National Parole Board. Again, you may need the help of a professional pardon service such to help you prepare an affidavit for offences missing from your CPIC criminal record.

You will also need to obtain a letter from the court confirming that your criminal record court documents can no longer be located or produced. Once you have obtained proof of conviction(s) or completed an affidavit, you are ready to complete the more mundane court requests for your pardon. The purpose of pardon court requests are to confirm that you are legally eligible for a pardon in Canada.

Generally, you are eligible for pardon if at least 3 years have passed since the completion of a sentence that arose from a summary conviction, or if at least 5 years have passed since the completion of a sentence that arose from an indictable conviction. This is generally referred to as your pardon eligibility. The terms "summary" and "indictable" are referring to the method of trial for your offence. Summary is generally reserved for minor offences, and indictable is generally used for more serious offences. If you are not sure which applies to your offence, you may want to consult a pardon service professional, or for quick reference, you can read more about pardon eligibility here.

As most offences in the Canadian Criminal Code are hybrid, meaning they could have been either summary or indictable, you need to confirm this method of trail with a certified pardon court information form. Likewise, the National Parole Board also requires confirmation that you completed your sentences for your criminal offences. This includes the payment of fines as far back as 15 years. You are now ready to complete your pardon court request(s).

Calculate the date of sentence for each offence on your criminal record or for which you have a proof of conviction plus the number of months and years of any sentence associated with that conviction, including probation but excluding prohibitions. Then add 5 years to estimate your eligibility as if the offence was indictable.

Note: Prohibitions of firearms or drivers licenses do not affect pardon eligibility. However, nor does the pardon affect or lift the prohibition. They are considered separate and apart from your criminal record for the purpose of a pardon.

Prepare a separate pardon court information form for each and every offence for which the calculated latest date of eligibility (conviction date plus sentence plus 5 years) is past the current date. For these offences, you will have to show they are summary but obtaining the court information. If they turn out to be indictable, you will not yet be eligible to submit your pardon to the Board. Secondly, you will need to submit a pardon court information form for any offences which include a fine or restitution order within the last 15 years. You need only submit one pardon court information request per court location, even if you have more than one offence which you must check at that location.

The pardon court information form has room for up to five entries. If you require more, than make an extra copy of the last page. Create a calender schedule to follow up on each court request periodically over the next 6 weeks to 3 months. Without the contacts and established system of a professional pardon service, you will have to stay on top of the courts if you expect to have your court requests returned in a relatively timely manner.

If getting your pardon quickly is a priority, you will be far better off using a pardon service to complete your application. For example, Express Pardons has a proven method to fast-track pardon applications through the courts, police and the National Parole Board, providing the fastest pardon in Canada.

In any case, once you have received your court documents back, you are ready to move on to step 3 of the pardon application process.

I will cover step three in my next article to follow. In the meantime, feel free to visit my blog for more reading on this subject and others.