PARDON and PURGE SERVICES
Pardon and Purge Services processes pardons granted and issued and revocations
and cessation of pardons. It seals or reactivates the criminal record
when a pardon is granted, revoked, or ceases to have effect, and notifies
the contributing agencies on behalf of the National Parole Board (NPB).
The section also purges criminal records information in accordance with
the Criminal Records Act, Youth Criminal Justice Act, and ministerial directives.
Note: Under the authority of the Criminal Records Act,
the Minister of Public Safety Canada may disclose information from a pardoned
record. Under the same Act, the National Parole Board may revoke a pardon
if the person to whom it is granted is subsequently convicted of a summary
offence or is no longer of good conduct. A pardon automatically ceases
to have effect if the person to whom it is granted is subsequently convicted
of a dual procedure offence.
NOTE: Please direct all inquiries about the status of your pardon
application to the National Parole Board office
nearest you.
The lead agency dealing with Pardons is the National Parole Board. For
more information on Pardons, visit the Pardons Page of the
National Parole Board website.
To apply for a pardon:
- You need to obtain a "Pardon Application Guide"
from the National Parole Board (NPB).
- A lawyer or other representative
is not necessary.
- To obtain the NPB booklet or for additional information,
contact:
Clemency and Pardons Division
National Parole Board
410 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R1
Telephone: 1-800-874-2652
Fax. (613) 941-4981
http://www.npb-cnlc.gc.ca/
- Pardon Application Guides are also available from the NPB
website, NPB Regional Offices, RCMP
Offices, Provincial and Municipal Police Offices, and the Courts of Justice.
You do not need to apply for a pardon if charges against you were dismissed,
stayed or withdrawn, or did not result in a conviction.
If charges did not result in a conviction, but your record is on the
RCMP system:
- you may contact the arresting police force and ask them to
request that the RCMP return your fingerprints and all information taken
at the time of arrest for destruction. The police forces may choose to
deny this request.
Criminal Records are retained until the subject of the record is eighty
(80) years of age with no criminal activity reported in the last ten (10)
years, except where the subject:
- has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
- has been designated a "dangerous offender", and/or is still under
the sentence of a court.
- is still the subject of a prohibition order which has not expired.
- has an outstanding warrant or an interest has been expressed by an
agency engaged in the execution or administration of the law.
In each of these instances, the criminal record is retained until:
- the subject completes his/her sentence and remains crime free for
a period of ten years.
- the subject attains one hundred (100) years of age.
POLICY ON THE PURGING OF CRIMINAL RECORDS |
Absolute Discharges
- All absolute discharges received on or after July 24, 1992, are
removed from the criminal record after a period of one (1) year from the
date of sentence.
- Absolute discharges received before July 24, 1992, are removed
upon written request from the individual.
Conditional Discharges
- All conditional discharges received on or after July 24, 1992,
are removed from the criminal record three (3) years following the date
of the sentence.
- Conditional discharges registered before July 24, 1992, are removed
upon written request from the individual.
Please download the Request to Purge Absolute
and/or Conditional Discharge form and complete and send to:
RCMP
PARDON AND PURGE SERVICES
Box 8885
Ottawa, ON K1G 3M8
Fax: 613-957-9063
Requests must contain all of the following information:
- your full name (including any maiden names or aliases),
- date of birth,
- complete return mailing address, including Civic address, Apartment number and/or P.O. Box number
- phone number (include area code), and
- the particulars of the offence(s) that apply.
Having an expired criminal record as a Young Person should not affect
you as an adult. Once entries have expired, the charges are removed and
cannot be accessed by any law enforcement agency.
However, a subject found guilty of a subsequent offence as an adult BEFORE
the expiration of the retention period is treated as an adult and the
retention and disposal periods applicable to an adult take effect.
Young
Person - Treatment of Specific Court Dispositions
Summary Offence and Indictable Offence
- If the young person is found guilty of a summary offence, the record
is removed three (3) years after the satisfaction of the sentence (custody
and/or probation).
- If the young person is found guilty of an indictable offence, the
record is active for a period of five (5) years after the satisfaction
of the sentence (custody and/or probation) and then is transferred to
a special repository.
- If, prior to the expiration of the periods, a conviction for a subsequent
summary offence or an indictable offence is entered against a young
person, the retention period for all entries will begin anew. Once
the retention period for the subsequent offence has expired, the entries
are then transferred to a special repository.
Finding of Guilt Not Entered
- If the young person is acquitted (other than by a verdict of not
criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder) and the charge
is dismissed, withdrawn, or stayed, the record is transferred to a special
repository.
- If the young person receives a reprimand, extra juidicial sanctions or is ordered to enter into a recognizance to
keep the peace and maintain good behaviour, the information is transferred
to a special repository.
- Restorative justice or extra judicial measures: the information is destroyed upon receipt.
Absolute and Conditional Discharges
- If the young person is found guilty, and given an absolute discharge,
the record is transferred to a special repository one (1) year from
the date of sentence.
- If found guilty, and given a conditional discharge, the entry is
transferred to a special repository three (3) years from the date of
sentence.
Law enforcement agencies cannot access young person information once
it is removed to a special repository. Information stored in the special
repository can only be released by Pardon and Purge Services under circumstances
outlined in section 128 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
LINKS
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