IMPORTANT CHANGE! Effective January 1, 2022, the Government of Canada reduced the fee to apply for a Record Suspension to $50.00!

RECORD SUSPENSIONS (formerly PARDONS)

have pros and cons. The upside to a Record Suspension is that all information pertaining to convictions will be taken out of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and may not be disclosed without permission from the Minister of Public Safety Canada. This applies ONLY to records kept within federal departments and agencies although many of the provincial and municipal law enforcement agencies will cooperate by restricting access to their records once receiving notification that a Record Suspension has been granted.

The downside and misconception of a Record Suspension is that:

It does not erase the fact that a person was convicted of an offence.
It does not guarantee entry to another country.
Provincial and municipal agencies (ie. Courts and police services) do not have to keep records of convictions separate from other criminal records.
Persons convicted of certain sexual offences remain flagged in the CPIC system.
It does not cancel prohibition orders such as driving or firearms prohibition orders.

A step-by-step guide to the Record Suspension Application process can be found at: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions.html. RyMa would be pleased to assist you with obtaining the official court documents, the Local Police Records Check Form(s) and completing the required forms.

NOTE: Preparation of the application and gathering supporting documents takes anywhere between 2 and 6 months. The Parole Board of Canada's Current processing times are 6 months (for summary conviction offences) and 12 months for indictable offences. The entire process can take up to 18 months.