Automatic Record Expiry Replaces Pardons

Summary#

This bill replaces “record suspensions” (pardons) with “record expiry” under the Criminal Records Act. Most criminal records will expire automatically after set waiting periods once a sentence is finished. It updates related laws (e.g., Criminal Code, Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) to recognize record expiry. It also removes application fees and repeals the Pardon Services Fees Order.

• Automatic record expiry after 5 years (indictable/service offences) or 2 years (summary offences) from sentence completion; no waiting period for youth (Bill s. 4(1)–(2)).
• If there was a new conviction, outstanding charge, or investigation during the waiting period, expiry is paused and may require a Parole Board review; the Board must notify the person within 30 days (Bill s. 4.1(1)–(3)).
• Once expired, the record is kept separate and cannot be used to impose federal disqualifications; limited disclosure rules apply (Bill s. 2.1 “Effect of record expiry,” s. 6–6.1).
• Prior ineligibility rules are removed; cannabis-specific provisions (Schedule 3) are repealed (Bill s. 4; Schedule 3 repealed).
• Revocation is narrower: the Board may revoke an expiry only for serious listed offences if the person lied or hid key facts in their application (Bill s. 7; Schedules 1–2).
• Applications (when needed) are free; the Pardon Services Fees Order is repealed (Bill “Applications free of fee or charge”; Pardon Services Fees Order repealed).

What it means for you#

• Households and people with records

  • Adults: Your record will expire automatically after you finish your sentence and wait 5 years for indictable/service offences or 2 years for summary offences, unless there was a new conviction, outstanding charge, or investigation during that time (Bill s. 4(1), 4.1(1)).
  • Youth: If you were a child at the time of the offence, your record expires once your sentence ends; no extra waiting period (Bill s. 4(2)).
  • If expiry was paused due to a new conviction, it occurs right after the other offence’s record expires; if paused due to charges/investigation that end without conviction, expiry occurs once those are resolved (Bill s. 4.4 “Record expiry — other circumstances”).
  • Existing record suspensions are deemed record expiries on Royal Assent (Transitional: “Record suspensions — general”).
  • If the Board must review your case, it will order expiry if it sustains your rehabilitation and does not bring the administration of justice into disrepute; you can make written or oral submissions (Bill s. 4.1(3)–(5), 4.2(2)).

• Job seekers and workers

  • Employers cannot ask on application forms about convictions where a record expiry has occurred (Bill s. 8).
  • Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, it remains discrimination to act against someone for a conviction where a pardon was granted or a record expiry has occurred (Bill amending CHRA s. 2, s. 3(1), s. 25).

• Businesses and employers

  • Update hiring forms to remove questions that require disclosure of convictions with record expiry (Bill s. 8).
  • Access to expired records is tightly limited; Ministerial approval is needed for disclosure, with narrow exceptions (Bill s. 6.1(2)–(5)).

• Immigrants and permanent residents

  • Immigration inadmissibility cannot be based on a conviction if a record expiry has occurred (Bill amending IRPA s. 36(3)(b)).

• Non-profits/charities

  • Income Tax Act rules on “ineligible individuals” now recognize record expiry; an expired record can resolve ineligibility tied to a past conviction (Bill amending ITA s. 149.1(1), (1.01)).

• People on sex offender registries

  • You may apply to end certain registry obligations once you receive a pardon or once a record expiry has occurred (Bill amending Criminal Code s. 490.015(3), 490.026(4); National Defence Act s. 227.03(3), 227.12(4)).

• Law enforcement and justice system

  • RCMP must keep expired records separate and may disclose only with Ministerial approval, with limited exceptions (Bill s. 6–6.1).
  • RCMP must purge CPIC entries for discharges after the set period and for offences later decriminalized; “decriminalized offence” is defined (Bill s. 6.1(7)–(8)).
  • A notation remains in CPIC to indicate whether there is a conviction for listed serious offences (Schedules 1–2) even after expiry (Bill s. 6.3(2), s. 6.4).
  • Juror challenges: a juror’s past conviction is not a basis for challenge if a pardon or record expiry has occurred (Bill amending Criminal Code s. 638(1)(c)).

Expenses#

• Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• Key fiscal elements in the bill text:

  • Application fees are prohibited for any applications under s. 4.1 (Bill “Applications free of fee or charge”).
  • The Pardon Services Fees Order is repealed (Bill “Pardon Services Fees Order is repealed”).
  • The Parole Board must notify affected individuals within 30 days if expiry is paused and accept applications in those cases (Bill s. 4.1(2)–(3)).
  • RCMP and federal agencies must maintain separate records, purge certain entries, and manage CPIC notations (Bill s. 6–6.4).

• Quantified costs or foregone fee revenue: Data unavailable.

• Implementation or IT system costs for the Board and RCMP: Data unavailable.

• Savings from reduced application processing (due to automatic expiry): Data unavailable.

Proponents' View#

• Simplifies and speeds reintegration by making most record relief automatic after 2–5 years, instead of requiring applications and longer waits (Bill s. 3(1), s. 4(1)–(2)).
• Removes user fees and makes any needed application free, reducing financial barriers (Bill “Applications free of fee or charge”; Pardon Services Fees Order repealed).
• Protects rights: employers cannot require disclosure once a record expires; CHRA and Immigration Act are updated to reflect record expiry (Bill s. 8; CHRA amendments; IRPA s. 36(3)(b)).
• Maintains public-safety checks: if there are new convictions, charges, or investigations during the waiting period, expiry pauses and may require Board review with a “administration of justice” test (Bill s. 4.1(1), (3)–(5)).
• Limits misuse of data: expired records are kept separate; disclosure needs Ministerial approval, with narrow exceptions; decriminalized offences cannot be disclosed (Bill s. 6–6.1).

Opponents' View#

• Weakens safeguards by replacing case-by-case “good conduct” reviews with automatic expiry and narrowing revocation to false statements for listed offences; new offences after expiry do not automatically undo the expiry (Bill s. 4(1)–(2); s. 7; s. 7.2).
• Reduces information available to employers and agencies for sensitive roles, since questions about expired convictions are barred and disclosures are restricted (Bill s. 8; s. 6.1(2)–(5)).
• Implementation risk: the Parole Board must track waiting periods and send notices within 30 days; RCMP must update CPIC rules and purging processes; these may strain systems (Bill s. 4.1(2); s. 6.1(6)–(7)).
• Eliminates fee revenue and may increase administrative workload for notifications and reviews; no offsetting funding is identified in the bill text (Applications free of fee or charge; repeal of Fees Order). Amounts: Data unavailable.
• Unintended effects: Repeal of special cannabis schedule and prior ineligibility rules could allow expiry for a broader set of offences than before, unless later limited by Schedules 1–2 and regulations (Bill s. 4; Schedule 3 repealed; s. 9.1, “Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2”).