To err is human, to forgive is divine. Even the best of us have done some things we are not particularly proud of. However, when we cross legal lines, we are faced with the penalties. Fines may be paid, a jail term may be served. Whatever the case, the truth remains that, for many, life is not the same after a criminal record is formed, as it may affect employment, traveling, residence, adoption, and a host of other critical life aspects and decisions. The good news, however, is that you can live an excellent life even after mistakes have been made, and even more exciting news is that you can get bad records cleared in Canada.
If you meet the Canadian government’s requirements for eligibility, as per the Criminal Records Act (CRA) of Canada (the criminal law which outlines the steps involved in tendering Canadian pardon applications and much more), you can unquestionably free yourself of criminal records. It is necessary, nonetheless, to have a knowledge of how to get a pardon in Ontario, as Canada is one of the few countries in the Americas (and the world at large) that offers the opportunity of obtaining a pardon and, extensively, a second chance at having a clean criminal record.
It is important to know, however, that while this “pardon” is not essentially a complete cleanse of one’s criminal history, it denotes a seal on one’s public criminal record in the national database. This means any search into a person’s criminal record comes out empty and can only be completely viewed after permission is obtained from the person or the Public Safety Minister of Canada. It is like a new lease on life with a cleaner sheet.
Clearing your criminal record in Canada involves three major steps and a waiting period before a record suspension is granted. These are; data collection, data analysis and the Canadian pardon application. The data to be collected involves necessary documents and records such as fingerprints as well as police, court and even the Royal Canadian Mounted Police force reports and records for each offence. The Parole Board of Canada is the body in charge of awarding record suspensions. These bodies all charge fees for their services, and it takes a while to get done with this part of the process, between three to eighteen months. Once this part of the process is completed, the collected data is then analyzed to determine the type of record removal process that is most suitable for the procedure. When the data meets the standard, the person will be deemed qualified to submit the application to the Parole Board of Canada. After this is done, it’s a worthwhile wait while you anticipate positive results.
