Criminal Record Checks and Pardons

One of my first experiences with bureaucracy was when I had to get a criminal record check. It was required by a school in which I was about to take up a volunteering position. I was eager to start as a classroom assistant, but first I had to wait until the RCMP had processed my request through the Canadian Police Information Centre, (CPIC). The wait was an impediment to my plans, but only a temporary one. As I had no convictions, my check eventually came back clear and I could finally take up the position and leave the bureaucratic interlude behind me. What if, at some past time, I had committed a youthful mistake and had broken the law? Then I would have had much more to worry about, and not just in this instance. Today, security is a big issue for employers and volunteer organizations alike. Not wanting to take unnecessary risks, many will run a criminal record check on a prospective candidate, particularly in certain professions, examples being law enforcement, security and government jobs. An ex-convict may be fully reformed, but the employer does not know that, and a past conviction will often mean that a candidate will not be considered further, even if otherwise perfectly qualified. rnAre you among the not-so-few Canadians with a criminal record? Have you done your time and do you think you should no longer be stigmatized for a past mistake? Then you can apply for a pardon, which will seal your criminal record and keep it from being accessed during a check. To get a pardon, you need to apply to the National Parole Board of Canada, which will grant it if three to ten years (depending on the seriousness of the offence that you were convicted of) have passed from the end of your sentence, during which time you have been a good citizen, and if the application is completed correctly. This last point cannot be overemphasized; applying for a pardon involves a great deal of paperwork and an application containing a mistake, however slight, can easily result in a rejection, after which you will have to wait a full year before re-applying. In order to avoid this, it would be wise to allow a pardons agency to handle the application. Now that you have you have your pardon, all your problems are solved, right? If you wish to travel to the USA, this may not be enough. American law does not allow Canadians who have a criminal record to cross the border without a waiver. The CPIC gives the US Customs and Border Protection Agency access to its files; even if you have a Canadian pardon, your name may show up during a passport check at the border, which will result in your being deported, with possible further consequences. The only solution to this is to resort to more bureaucracy: obtaining a US entry waiver will allow you to cross the border legally. Again, a pardons agency can help you with the paperwork.