Requests for pardons drop in wake of changes

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Applications Dropped by 1/3

Fewer Canadians are applying for pardons since the federal government hiked application fees and changed the rules to make offenders wait longer before they can ask for a suspension of criminal records.

No one from the board would agree to an interview, but Howard Sapers, Canada's Correctional Investigator, attributes some of the drop to the government increasing the application fee to $631 from $150.

"That's a considerable amount of money for many people with a criminal record, particularly if they're already having trouble gaining employment."

"There's no way I can afford to pay out $600," says a London, Ont., woman the CBC has agreed not to identify.

Eight years ago, she was intoxicated and sitting in the passenger seat of an idling vehicle while her friend popped into convenience store. A police officer passing by noticed her condition and charged her with being the care and control of a vehicle while impaired.

She lost her licence and paid a fine, but says the punishment continues to this day because she can't get a job with a record. Her background is in accounting and payroll but right now, she says she'll settle for anything.

"I've even applied for a cleaning position. I've applied for receptionist, anything that will help me get back into the workforce."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/requests-for-pardons-drop-in-wake-of-changes-1.2434526


This is class warfare: conservative style.

[arikara]

1. Yes, all part of Harper's "war on crime"

wage it on the most vulnerable and those least able to defend themselves. It looks good to his teabagging base.