Automatic Expiry of Criminal Records

Summary#

This bill changes how Canada clears old criminal records. It replaces “record suspensions (pardons)” with automatic “record expiry” after set waiting periods. It also updates many federal laws to reflect this change and removes application fees.

• Most adult criminal records would expire automatically after the sentence is finished and a waiting period passes: 5 years for more serious crimes (indictable offences) and 2 years for less serious crimes (summary offences).
• For offences committed as a child, the record would expire once the sentence is over (no extra waiting time).
• If someone was convicted again during the waiting period, or still had charges or an active investigation at the end of it, their record would not expire automatically. They could apply, and the Parole Board would review.
• After expiry, the record is kept separate and not shared, with limited safety-related exceptions for police.
• Application fees are eliminated, and past record suspensions are treated as expiries.

What it means for you#

• People with past convictions

  • Your record could expire automatically after you finish your sentence and wait 2 or 5 years, as noted above.
  • If you were a child when the offence happened, your record would expire after your sentence ends.
  • If you had a new conviction during the waiting period, or still had charges or an investigation at the end of that period, you would need to apply to the Parole Board for expiry.
  • Once expired, federal agencies must keep your record separate and not disclose it, except in limited cases for safety or justice reasons.
  • Job applications cannot ask you to disclose a conviction that has expired.

• Job seekers and workers

  • Many employers and licensing bodies would no longer see expired records in federal checks.
  • Some checks (such as for work with vulnerable people) may still show a limited flag for certain listed offences, even after expiry.

• Immigrants and travelers

  • An expired record cannot be used to find you criminally inadmissible under federal immigration law.

• People with past cannabis possession offences

  • Special rules for cannabis are no longer needed; your record would expire under the same automatic rules.

• Charities and non-profits

  • The Income Tax Act would recognize record expiry the same way as past suspensions when deciding who is an “ineligible individual.”

• Policing and justice system

  • The RCMP must keep expired records separate and remove certain entries for decriminalized or unconstitutional offences.
  • Police may have limited access to basic identifiers or notations for specific listed offences, for safety purposes.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

• Eliminates application fees, which reduces federal fee revenue.
• Likely new one-time costs to update RCMP and Parole Board systems for automatic expiry and data purging.
• Ongoing administrative costs to review applications in flagged cases (people with new convictions, charges, or active investigations at the end of the waiting period).

Proponents' View#

• Makes record clearance automatic and faster, helping people get jobs, housing, and education sooner.
• Removes fees and complex paperwork that kept low-income people from clearing their records.
• Encourages rehabilitation by making a clean slate the default after people complete their sentence and stay out of trouble during the wait.
• Reduces the long-term impact of minor and youth offences.
• Aligns with human rights protections by limiting discrimination based on old convictions.

Opponents' View#

• Automatic expiry may hide serious offences too soon, reducing employer and public awareness in sensitive settings.
• Narrower rules to revoke or end an expiry could leave expired records in place even if someone later reoffends.
• Could add workload and costs for the Parole Board and RCMP to build and manage an automatic system and handle reviews.
• Limits on disclosure may complicate vulnerable sector checks or other safety screenings.