Criminal Records Expire Automatically After Sentences

Summary#

This bill replaces “record suspensions” with automatic “record expiries” for people convicted of federal offences. Most records would expire automatically after a set waiting period once the sentence is fully done, with no application fee. It updates many federal laws to treat a record expiry like a pardon for privacy, employment, immigration, and other purposes.

• Automatic expiry after 5 years (indictable/service offences with higher penalties) or 2 years (summary/service offences with lower penalties) after sentence completion (Clause 5; new s.4(1)).
• No waiting period for offences committed when the person was a child; expiry follows sentence completion (Clause 5; new s.4(2)).
• If the person had a new conviction during the waiting period, or still had charges or an ongoing investigation at the end of it, expiry is delayed; the Parole Board may then order expiry after a review (Clause 6; new s.4.1(1)-(5)).
• The government must keep expired records separate and cannot disclose them, and must purge CPIC (the RCMP’s national database) entries for expired offences (Clause 11; new s.6.1(8)).
• Employers cannot ask applicants to disclose convictions that have expired (Clause 18; s.8).
• All application fees are eliminated and the Pardon Services Fees Order is repealed (Clause 22; Clause 26).

What it means for you#

• Households

  • If you finished your sentence and have no new convictions during the waiting period, your federal criminal record will expire automatically after:
    • 5 years for indictable or certain military offences with higher penalties (new s.4(1)(a)).
    • 2 years for summary or other military offences (new s.4(1)(b)).
  • If you committed the offence as a child, your record expires once the sentence is complete, with no extra waiting time (new s.4(2)).
  • Once expired, your record must be kept separate from other criminal records and not disclosed without ministerial approval, with CPIC entries removed (new s.6(2); new s.6.1(2), (8)).
  • You cannot be asked on application forms to disclose a conviction that has expired (s.8 as amended by Clause 18).

• Workers and job seekers

  • Employers and recruiters cannot include questions that require disclosure of convictions that have expired (Clause 18; s.8).
  • The Canadian Human Rights Act will treat an expired record like a pardon for anti‑discrimination purposes (Clauses 36–38).

• Volunteers and vulnerable sector roles

  • Police will keep a notation that lets them see whether there was a conviction “against a vulnerable person” even after expiry, for vulnerable sector checks (Clause 13; s.6.3(2)). Definition not included in the quoted sections.

• People with new charges or convictions during the waiting period

  • Your record will not expire automatically if, during the waiting period, you were convicted of another offence, or you had outstanding charges or an ongoing investigation at the end of the period (new s.4.1(1)).
  • The Parole Board will notify you within 30 days after the waiting period ends. You may apply for a Board order for expiry (new s.4.1(2)-(3)).
  • The Board must be satisfied that expiry sustains your rehabilitation and does not bring the administration of justice into disrepute. You have the burden to show rehabilitation; the Board may consider the nature and gravity of the offence and your history (new s.4.1(3)-(5)).

• Immigrants and permanent residents

  • Immigration inadmissibility cannot be based on a conviction for which a record expiry has occurred (Clause 45; IRPA s.36(3)(b)).
  • Regulations may address the effect of record expiry on status and removal orders (Clause 45; IRPA s.53(f)).

• People on registries or under related orders

  • Several Criminal Code and National Defence Act provisions are updated so that where the law already lets you apply to end certain orders, you may do so once a record expiry has occurred, similar to a pardon (Clauses 30–35, 41–42).
  • For sex offender registration, one pathway for obligations to end is when satisfactory proof of a pardon or record expiry is provided in specified circumstances (Clause 31; Criminal Code s.490.022(2)(c)).

• Police and justice agencies

  • RCMP must purge CPIC entries for offences once a record expiry occurs and maintain non‑disclosure, with limited exceptions (Clause 11; new s.6.1(2), (8)).
  • The Minister may require delivery of judicial records for expired convictions into the Commissioner’s custody; such records must be kept separate (Clause 10; s.6(1)-(2)).

Expenses#

Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• No fiscal note found. The bill repeals application fees and prohibits charging fees for Parole Board applications under s.4.1 (Clause 22; Clause 26).
• Potential impacts implied by bill text:
  • Loss of federal fee revenue from eliminating record‑related fees (Clause 22; Clause 26) — Data unavailable.
  • Administrative costs to implement automatic expiries, notifications, reviews, and CPIC purging (Clauses 6, 11) — Data unavailable.
  • Possible savings from fewer full application assessments due to automatic expiries (Clauses 4–6) — Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Speeds rehabilitation by making expiry automatic after 2 or 5 years once sentences are done, instead of requiring most people to apply and prove “good conduct” or “measurable benefit” (Clause 5; deletion of prior s.4.1 criteria; new s.3, s.4).
• Removes cost barriers by prohibiting fees and repealing the Pardon Services Fees Order, which proponents say improves access for low‑income people (Clause 22; Clause 26).
• Reduces collateral consequences: once a record expires, federal disqualifications based on the conviction are removed, and records are kept separate and not disclosed, protecting privacy and improving access to jobs and housing (Clause 3; new “Effect of record expiry”; Clause 11; new s.6.1(2), (8)).
• Protects public safety through screening: police can still see a notation for offences against a vulnerable person during vulnerable sector checks (Clause 13; s.6.3(2)).
• Provides safeguards for complex cases: when there are new convictions, pending charges, or investigations, the Board reviews and may refuse expiry if it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute (Clause 6; new s.4.1(1), (3)-(5)).
• Aligns other federal laws so an expired record is treated like a pardon, including for human rights, immigration inadmissibility, DNA databank handling, and certain registry/order terminations (Clauses 30–38, 44–45).

Opponents' View#

• Automatic expiry may include serious offences because prior categorical ineligibility lists are repealed (Schedules 1–3 repealed), raising concern about information loss to employers or community groups, despite the vulnerable‑sector notation (Clauses 24–26; Clause 13).
• The bill’s “Effect of record expiry” removes disqualifications “under any Act of Parliament” without listing exceptions, which could create legal uncertainty or unintended interactions with other public‑safety regimes until consequential amendments and practices are fully aligned (Clause 3).
• Implementation risks: RCMP and the Parole Board must identify eligible cases, send timely notices, review flagged cases, and purge CPIC records. Errors or delays could harm applicants or public safety (Clauses 6, 11). Data unavailable on capacity and costs.
• The Board’s discretion standard (“would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute”) is broad and places the onus on applicants in flagged cases, which could lead to uneven outcomes or appeals (Clause 6; new s.4.1(3)-(5)).
• Employers and volunteer organizations may face liability concerns because they cannot ask about expired convictions, and the bill shifts from a detailed offence list to the broader “offence against a vulnerable person” notation, whose scope is not defined in the quoted text (Clause 18; Clause 13).
• Immigration: barring reliance on expired convictions for inadmissibility may limit tools to address some public‑safety risks among non‑citizens, depending on case specifics (Clause 45; IRPA s.36(3)(b)).