Thanks to recent federal court rulings, the strict 5- and 10-year wait times introduced by the 2012 Safe Streets and Communities Act are no longer applied retroactively. If your offence was committed before the law changed, the Parole Board of Canada will grandfather you into the older, shorter wait times of 3 or 5 years.
In 2012, the federal government enacted the Safe Streets and Communities Act (Bill C-10), drastically overhauling the Criminal Records Act. Overnight, the mandatory wait times for obtaining a pardon were doubled, jumping to 5 years for summary convictions and 10 years for indictable offences. The familiar term “pardon” was also officially changed to “Record Suspension.” For years, these strict new timelines were aggressively applied retroactively to Canadians whose crimes occurred long before 2012. However, following landmark rulings in the Federal Court, applying these harsh retroactive punishments was deemed unconstitutional under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Today, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) must assess your application based on the laws that were in effect on the exact day you committed the crime, allowing thousands of Canadians to apply for clemency years earlier than they thought possible.
The Challenge of Retrieving Archival Court Records
One of the largest hurdles for applicants utilizing the pre-2010 or pre-2012 grandfathered rules is simply finding the required paperwork. Canadian courthouses and local police detachments are not legally required to keep physical files forever. Often, summary conviction files are aggressively purged or sent to deep provincial archives after a decade. If the courthouse in your jurisdiction (whether that is in Nova Scotia, Ontario, or British Columbia) cannot locate your Information or Certificate of Conviction, you will need to work directly with the RCMP and local police to reconstruct the timeline. This is where retaining a seasoned Canadian law firm becomes incredibly valuable, as they understand how to file specialized requests to satisfy the PBC’s strict evidentiary standards.
Step-by-Step Process for Grandfathered Applications in Canada
Navigating these transitional provisions requires pinpoint accuracy. Whether your crime was committed in Montreal, Winnipeg, or Victoria, federal law dictates your eligibility based on specific historical dates.
Step 1: Identifying the Date of Your Offence
The most critical piece of information is the exact date your offence was committed, not the date you were finally convicted in court. If your offence occurred prior to June 29, 2010, you are grandfathered into the oldest rules, meaning the wait time is just 3 years for a summary conviction or 5 years for an indictable offence.
Step 2: Understanding the 2010 to 2012 Era
If your offence was committed between June 29, 2010, and March 12, 2012, slightly different rules apply. You still benefit from the standard 3- and 5-year wait times. However, if you committed a serious personal injury offence (like manslaughter or aggravated assault), your wait time is elevated to 10 years. An experienced law firm can help clarify which historical era your specific charge falls into.
Step 3: Gathering Fingerprints and Court Records
Like all Record Suspension applications, you must start with digital fingerprints sent to the RCMP to generate your official criminal record. Once you have this, you must gather all court documents to prove to the government precisely when the crime took place and when the sentence was officially completed.
Step 4: Submitting to the Parole Board of Canada
When you file your application, you do not need a special court order to claim the older wait times. The PBC will automatically apply the correct historical timeline based on the dates in your court documentation. However, you must still provide evidence of good conduct and prove that you have been completely law-abiding since your conviction.
Timeline of Legislative Changes for Record Suspensions
Understanding which era of the Criminal Records Act applies to you can be confusing. Use the table below to determine your statutory wait time based on the date the offence occurred.
| Offence Date | Summary Conviction | Indictable Offence |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-June 29, 2010 | 3 Years | 5 Years |
| June 2010 – March 2012 | 3 Years | 5 Years (10 for Serious Injury) |
| Post-March 13, 2012 | 5 Years | 10 Years |
How Much Does it Cost in Canada?
Whether you are applying under the old 3-year rule or the modern 10-year rule, the administrative costs remain identical across Canada.
- PBC Application Fee: $50 CAD.
- RCMP Fingerprints: Usually $25 to $85 CAD.
- Police Checks: Typically $50 to $100 CAD.
- Legal Fees: Retaining a lawyer to meticulously track down decades-old court records typically costs between $1,000 and $2,000 CAD.
How Long Does the Process Take?
Older crimes often present a unique challenge: obtaining records. It may take 4 to 8 months just to source archived court documents or obtain a formal “Proof of Conviction” from the local police. Once submitted, the PBC takes up to 6 months for summary offences and 12 months for indictable offences to issue the formal Record Suspension.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Do I have to apply to the court to get the old wait times?
No, the Parole Board of Canada automatically applies the correct historical law based on the date of the offence listed on your RCMP record and court documents.
What if my conviction date is after 2012, but the crime was in 2011?
The federal law strictly looks at the date the offence was committed, not the date the judge handed down the conviction. If the act was in 2011, the older rules apply to you.
Did the government change the name from Pardon to Record Suspension?
Yes. The 2012 Safe Streets and Communities Act changed the terminology, but they mean the exact same thing legally and have the same effect on your criminal record.
Does this rule change affect the application fee?
No. The federal government unified the application fee to a flat $50 CAD for everyone as of January 2022, regardless of when the crime occurred.
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