What is Mercy of Prerogative? Normally you can apply to have your record sealed with a Canadian Pardon (now called Record Suspension) after you have met all eligibility criteria.
But, if you have not met all eligibility criteria, you may be able apply to have your criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records prior to Pardon Eligibility (now called Record Suspension) using an application process called Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
Record Suspensions are granted by the Parole Board of Canada.
Royal Prerogative of Mercy is granted by the Governor General or the Federal Cabinet (the Harper Government at the time of the writing of this blog).
But, what happens in a case when the laws change? What happens if what you did is no longer considered a criminal act? In rare cases involving justice, humanity and compassion, a pardon can be granted under Mercy of Prerogative Legislation.
Number of Mercy of Prerogative Cases Granted Only 9 out of 210 applications were granted in the past 9 years.
That is only 4% of all applications submitted.
Mercy of Prerogative is rarely exercised.
It would be difficult to assess whether the powers of the government to grant pardons under Mercy of Prerogative Legislation has been abused because, for the most part, the granting and refusing of Royal Prerogative of Mercy applications is generally kept private, because these applications involve private persons whose application are protected under Privacy Legislation.
The Harper Government recently and publicly announced the granting of pardons to farmers; something which deserves favorable mention.
Dismantling of the Wheat Board Monopoly Laws giving the Wheat Board a monopoly in Canada over wheat trade were recently dismantled.
As these laws governing the Wheat Board no longer exist, farmers are allowed to sell their wheat to whomever they want.
Since it is no longer illegal to sell to whomever they want, any farmer convicted under the olds laws were automatically issued a pardon by the Harper Government.
Fortunately for the farmers, they did not have to make an application to the Federal Government to have their records pardoned.
Sensibly, the Federal Government recognized that the laws were unfair, and on that basis, automatically issued pardons.
This was a great political move by the Harper Government, for which they received a great deal of press, both good and bad.
Similarly, a move has been made by the Quebec Government to have the RCMP remove from their criminal database records of convictions related to the Gun Registry which is being dismantled.
How does this relate to pardons? It would appear that pardons did not necessarily have to be granted by the Harper Government.
Wheat Board-related convictions could simply have been purged or removed from the RCMP database.
However, the public gesture was well received by the farmers in recognition that their behavior should not be deemed criminal and in no way should their actions reflect upon them negatively in any way.
In fact, their challenge of unfair trade practices is something to be respected.
But, if you have not met all eligibility criteria, you may be able apply to have your criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records prior to Pardon Eligibility (now called Record Suspension) using an application process called Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
Record Suspensions are granted by the Parole Board of Canada.
Royal Prerogative of Mercy is granted by the Governor General or the Federal Cabinet (the Harper Government at the time of the writing of this blog).
But, what happens in a case when the laws change? What happens if what you did is no longer considered a criminal act? In rare cases involving justice, humanity and compassion, a pardon can be granted under Mercy of Prerogative Legislation.
Number of Mercy of Prerogative Cases Granted Only 9 out of 210 applications were granted in the past 9 years.
That is only 4% of all applications submitted.
Mercy of Prerogative is rarely exercised.
It would be difficult to assess whether the powers of the government to grant pardons under Mercy of Prerogative Legislation has been abused because, for the most part, the granting and refusing of Royal Prerogative of Mercy applications is generally kept private, because these applications involve private persons whose application are protected under Privacy Legislation.
The Harper Government recently and publicly announced the granting of pardons to farmers; something which deserves favorable mention.
Dismantling of the Wheat Board Monopoly Laws giving the Wheat Board a monopoly in Canada over wheat trade were recently dismantled.
As these laws governing the Wheat Board no longer exist, farmers are allowed to sell their wheat to whomever they want.
Since it is no longer illegal to sell to whomever they want, any farmer convicted under the olds laws were automatically issued a pardon by the Harper Government.
Fortunately for the farmers, they did not have to make an application to the Federal Government to have their records pardoned.
Sensibly, the Federal Government recognized that the laws were unfair, and on that basis, automatically issued pardons.
This was a great political move by the Harper Government, for which they received a great deal of press, both good and bad.
Similarly, a move has been made by the Quebec Government to have the RCMP remove from their criminal database records of convictions related to the Gun Registry which is being dismantled.
How does this relate to pardons? It would appear that pardons did not necessarily have to be granted by the Harper Government.
Wheat Board-related convictions could simply have been purged or removed from the RCMP database.
However, the public gesture was well received by the farmers in recognition that their behavior should not be deemed criminal and in no way should their actions reflect upon them negatively in any way.
In fact, their challenge of unfair trade practices is something to be respected.
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