Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said his new bill would waive the $631 application fee and remove the usual five-year waiting period after a conviction before an application will be accepted.
"That's nice and generous but it doesn't go far enough, as far as I'm concerned," said Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, a University of Toronto sociologist who specializes in crime, policing and race. "Pardons are not enough to try to repair the harms." Owusu-Bempah said that struggles with finding housing and employment are among the problems those who have been convicted of drug possession grapple with.
Enenajor said that while a pardon, or record suspension, does remove the charge from the National Repository of Criminal Records, a pardoned offence can still be reinstated by the national parole board if the board deems an individual is "no longer of good conduct." "With respect to cannabis, the law itself was completely valid and constitutional but some people, especially vulnerable and marginalized communities, were impacted disproportionately and unfairly," said Goodale.
Canada, the country that turned the golden goose into a tin egg...
Owusu-Bempah is wrong. Even this pardon is extraordinarily generous.
Not enough? What do they want? It was considered a crime and that’s it. End of story. The are lucky they even get a pardon. I would not give it now.
The Pardon process is not all that easy and if you research you will find in most cases it is only a record suspension which means they do not totally disappear from any history. The announcement said 'for a fee' Translation: money grab,more bureauocacy and waiting 4ever to be
With Canada being the world leader on this issue, expungements are critical for all Canadians (who apply), international relations and global influence. We must act in a way that reflects a fair democracy. Pardons are not enough. Parliament
You could give every Canadian a million dollars and it wouldn’t be enough for some whiners.
Let the dispensaries that were shut down re-open and legalize the black market. There, just solved the supply/demand problem.
I don't understand the issue.... if you got arrested for doing something that was illegal then, just remove it from every ones record, or have no repercussion for having the charge on your record.
The whole Cannabis law is a disaster.