They Did Their Time, Let People Move On

In past decades, we have seen a stark shift toward a punitive "tough on crime" criminal record system in Canada. These changes are not based on evidence but on the myth that harsher penalties will create safer communities. In reality, this regime has led to fewer people receiving criminal record suspensions and to overuse of criminal record checks and discriminatory practices that stop people from access housing, volunteer positions, employment, education, healthcare and other much needed opportunities that truly create safety in the community and allow for reintegration.

In light of this reality as well as the federal government’s campaign promises to address injustices in the criminal record system, I introduced Bill S-212 to build on incremental steps the government has taken toward criminal record reform.

Bill S-212

In recent years, public consultations, parliamentary committee work, and ministerial, Parole Board of Canada and other government representatives have made clear the need for legislative change to remedy the punitively costly and inaccessible process for obtaining a criminal record suspension.

Building on the government’s incremental steps toward record reform since 2015, Bill S-212 aims to remove current barriers to relief from a criminal record that perpetuate punishment for those who have been held accountable for their actions, fulfilled all aspects of their sentences and are trying to contribute to their communities, and particularly for those most marginalized and with fewest resources. The bill proposes three key measures:

Returning to the wait periods for record relief established by the Criminal Records Act when it was first enacted, namely, reducing the wait period from five to two years from the end of sentence for summary convictions and ten to five years for indictable offences.
Placing the responsibility on the government to ensure that records expire cost-free once wait periods elapse, provided that there have been no subsequent convictions or charges.
Providing for definitive deletion of criminal records rather than holding them in the limbo of “suspension”.

The non-application-based record expiry system proposed by Bill S-212 would bring Canada into line with countries like the UK, France, Germany and New Zealand, which allow some or all records to expire automatically. Bill S-212 would build on the already existing automated record expiry system used within the youth criminal legal system in Canada.