A record suspension sets an individual's criminal record apart so that it does not appear on a routine criminal record check. The Parole Board of Canada decides these applications, and it holds exclusive jurisdiction and absolute discretion over whether one is granted, refused, or revoked.
Problems arise before the decision is made. Applicants misjudge when their waiting period started, discover an unpaid fine that was never closed out, or submit a file that is returned as incomplete. When the Board proposes to refuse an application, there is a right to respond, and that response is the applicant's opportunity to answer the Board's concerns.
Foote Law assists people in Orangeville and across Ontario with record suspension applications and with contested files before the Parole Board of Canada.
Foote Law assists clients at every stage of a record suspension application, from an initial eligibility assessment through to contested proceedings before the Parole Board of Canada.
Foote Law accepts Legal Aid Ontario certificates and Employee Assistance Program referrals. Call Foote Law in Orangeville at 519-940-8309. Foote Law serves clients in Orangeville, Brampton, Shelburne, Alliston, Barrie, Owen Sound, Newmarket, Guelph, and throughout the Greater Toronto Area, in person and virtually.
An applicant must have completed their entire sentence before the waiting period begins. This includes any custodial sentence, parole or statutory release, probation, and payment in full of every fine, victim surcharge, and restitution order.
A driving or weapons prohibition order does not need to expire before the waiting period starts.
Since 2020, the Parole Board of Canada has assessed applications under the eligibility criteria that were in force when the applicant's first offence was committed, not the criteria in force today. The waiting periods differ across those frameworks:
A person who assumes the ten-year period applies to an older conviction may already be eligible.
Where a Schedule 1 exception is available, the onus is on the applicant to satisfy the Board that a suspension would provide a measurable benefit and would sustain the applicant's rehabilitation. Whether that exception applies to a particular conviction is a question best answered by a lawyer.
Two categories are barred:
A record suspension keeps an individual's record separate from other criminal records so that it does not appear on a routine check.
It does not erase the conviction. It does not lift a driving or weapons prohibition. It does not guarantee entry to another country, because each country applies its own admissibility rules and maintains its own records.
For certain sexual offences, the record can still be flagged on a vulnerable sector check, the screening required for work or volunteer positions involving children or vulnerable adults.
The Parole Board of Canada is clear that an applicant does not need a lawyer to apply, and for a single old conviction with a clean record since, that is true.
Legal help matters where the file is not straightforward:
Eligibility for a record suspension, a proposed refusal, and an existing suspension at risk each turn on the specific details of a person's record and sentence. Early legal advice can make the difference between a straightforward application and one that stalls or is refused. Call Foote Law in Orangeville at 519-940-8309.
