A record suspension allows people who were convicted of a criminal offence, but have completed their sentence and demonstrated they are law-abiding citizens for a prescribed number of years, to have their criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records.
Under the Criminal Records Act (CRA), the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) may order, refuse to order, or revoke record suspensions for convictions under federal acts or regulations of Canada.
TIME LINES FOR RECORD SUSPENSIONS (FORMERLY PARDONS)
- Initial interview and time in our office 1 hour. During that time we will determine if you qualify to apply for a Record Suspension. This is very important since you must wait five full years from the date of your conviction and all penalties such as fines, probation, restitution, etc. have been completed in the case of Summary Conviction offences and 10 full years for Indictable offences. Since we are also an RCMP Accredited company we will then take your fingerprints and submit them electronically to the RCMP.
- Fingerprints back from the RCMP - 2 weeks if no criminal record, up to 120 days if criminal record held by RCMP.
- Court records are requested after the RCMP report is received - This varies with the different courts and can take from a few weeks to 3 months on average. Some courts are very slow. While we closely monitor these requests and follow up with the courts when results are slow coming in, yet we have no control over their sometimes slow responses.
- Police check from police agencies where you have lived for the past 5 years. Return times vary depending on police agency. Can take on average a few weeks to 2 months. Waterloo Regional Police is very slow as is Peel Regional Police and Toronto. Their fees for services range from $25.00 to up to $100.00 depending on the police service.
- Once these documents are received we will complete your application and send it to the Parole Board.
- About one month later the Parole Board will acknowledge receipt of your application.
- Under the current completion Rules, Record Suspensions are reviewed and approved or denied usually within 3 to 7 months. It could take longer if you have a lengthy and serious criminal record involving Indictable offences.
Parole Board's Website.