by Samantha McAleese, PhD Student, Sociology, Carleton University
Dear readers:
My name is Samantha McAleese. I spent five years working on the front lines helping former prisoners trying to reintegrate as they struggled to find jobs and housing, in part because they had criminal records. Pardons are key to giving these people a chance.
This is not the announcement I was hoping for from the
Parole Board of Canada.
This is not the news story I want to ‘Share’ or ‘Tweet’.
This is not the blog post I wanted to write today.
I would much rather wake up to a headline that reads:
‘Pardon backlog cleared – Thousands of people finally able to move on with their lives’.
This is far from the
news story we see today, meaning that thousands of individuals
continue to be ignored by the Parole Board and the Government of Canada.
I can sit here and plug a bunch of academic research in an
effort to convince you of the benefit of receiving a pardon, of the negative
impact a criminal record has on securing meaningful employment, and of the
endless difficulty associated with the stigma of being an ‘ex-offender’.
But I won’t do that today.
Today, I will tell you about the almost 6,000 individuals who
have been waiting upwards of four years to have their pardon applications
processed. These are people who have served their sentences, but who continue
to endure punishment, criminalization, and discrimination due to administrative
delays.
This is a call-for-action. I am asking those who are stuck
in the pardon backlog to share their stories and experiences, and I am asking
everyone to demand action from the Parole Board of Canada and the Minster of
Public Safety.
I have drafted a letter to send to Minister Steven Blaney
and the Liberal and NDP public safety critics (see text below). Please feel free to send the
letter as-is, to make additions based on your own experiences, or to draft your
own letter.
If you would like your story shared, but prefer to remain
anonymous, please feel free to contact me via e-mail -- samanthamc.cpep@gmail.com
Too many people have experienced unnecessary hardship due to
the pardon backlog, and all of the changes made to Canada’s pardon system.
Let’s act in solidarity and demand action from the government that more
accurately reflects principles of justice and public safety.
SAMPLE LETTER
March 16, 2015
Honourable
Steven Blaney
Minister of
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
House of
Commons
Ottawa,
Ontario, K1A 0A6
Dear Minister
Blaney,
I am writing to
you to express my concern about the backlog of pardon applications at the
Parole Board of Canada. It is my opinion that the delay in processing almost 6,000
pardons completely disregards the mandate of the Parole Board of Canada and
brings the administration of justice into disrepute.
In October 2014, the
Parole Board of Canada posted an announcement on their website directed towards
individuals who are currently stuck in the pardon application backlog. The
update stated that there were still more than 10,000 files in the four-year
backlog, and a decision was made to focus solely on processing applications for
summary offences. This means that almost 7,000 files involving indictable
offences continued to wait in limbo until a decision was made by your Ministry
about funding and administrative resources.
On March 16, 2015,
a spokeswoman from the Parole Board of Canada told the Canadian Press that ‘the
board will not be able to dedicate the same level of resources to the backlog
in 2015-16’. Some applicants have reported that their applications are ‘effectively
dead’. What this means, Mr. Blaney, is that approximately 5,800 applicants are
being denied human rights protections due to administrative inefficiencies.
While I understand
that the Parole Board of Canada has offered people the option to re-apply under
the new record suspension program, it is important to realize that many
individuals in the pardon backlog do not have the financial means to pay the
$631 user fee attached to this new application.
The mission
statement of the Parole Board of Canada indicates that the protection of
society is facilitated by “the timely reintegration of offenders as law-abiding
citizens” and that doing so contributes to “a just, peaceful and safe society.”
I am writing to
you as an elected Member of Parliament and the Minister of Public Safety
because I want the Parole Board to be held accountable to their mandate and acknowledge
the hard work and patience of individuals who have long since paid their debt
to society. Receiving a pardon is a very important step in the long journey of
reintegration, and it is a shame that this process is being unnecessarily
delayed for thousands of Canadians.
Your willingness
to take action will demonstrate your dedication to maintaining public safety.
The faster all of the pardon applications are processed, the faster all
individual applicants can move forward in their lives and contribute to their
communities through employment and volunteer work, and also by going to school
for education and vocational training.
Thank you for your
time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Contact information]
cc:
Hon.
Arnold Wayne Easter - Liberal Party, Public Safety Critic - House of Commons
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6
Randall
Garrison - New Democratic Party, Public Safety Critic - House of Commons
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6
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