The federal fee to apply for a criminal clemency will be lowered to $ 50 from nearly $ 658 starting the new year.
The measure announced today fulfills an element of the liberals’ promise to improve the system by making it easier and less expensive to obtain a pardon, also known as a record suspension.
The government says that in addition to the $ 50 processing fee, applicants are responsible for any additional fees to obtain the information necessary for their application, such as fingerprints, court documents, and police checks.
However, the government says it will provide $ 22 million over five years to community organizations to offer support services to help people complete requests for suspension of records and increase awareness of these services.
The government also plans to spend money on modernizing the program for the Canadian Parole Board, including developing a new online portal to make the application process simpler and faster.
A bill that was introduced in June, but died with the dissolution of Parliament in the calling of the summer elections, proposed undoing measures introduced by Conservatives Stephen Harper that made people wait longer for a record suspension.
This Canadian Press report was first published on December 21, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com