In Canada, a person must wait 5 years after completing their sentence for a summary conviction offence, and 10 years for an indictable offence, before applying for a record suspension.

During all those years, a criminal record closes doors: employment, housing, education, volunteering, travel.

These waiting periods protect no one. They deepen poverty and make reintegration harder.

I am asking Parliament to amend the Criminal Records Act to:

reduce the waiting period to 5 years for indictable offences;
reduce the waiting period to 2 years for summary conviction offences;
reduce the waiting period to 1 year for conditional discharges (currently 3 years); 
reduce the waiting period to 6 months for absolute discharges (currently 1 year);  and
apply these new periods to pending applications and to sentences already served.

I once had a criminal record myself. After it was suspended, I became a criminal defence lawyer and practised for almost 11 years. Then I founded Clear Record. I know what a second chance can change in a life.

Sign and share: someone you know may be waiting for this reform.

Our proposed amendments: https://www.clearrecords.ca/avant-projet-de-modifications. “These shorter periods would apply only to non-violent offences. Violent and sexual offences would remain under the current rules.”

Diane Lafleur, LL.L., J.D., former criminal defence lawyer, registered lobbyist and founder of Clear Record.