Welcome to JFCY’s Legal Wiki which provides information about the legal rights of children and youth in Ontario. Click here to download this information from our Publications page. Please contact us if you have any questions or trouble finding the information that you seek. You should speak to a lawyer for legal advice since laws often change.
The Criminal Records Act was changed in 2012, and pardons no longer exist. Now, if you have been convicted of a criminal offence as an adult, but you have completed your sentence and have been law-abiding since your conviction, then you may apply to the Parole Board of Canada to have the record of your criminal conviction suspended.
A Record Suspension does not change or erase the fact that you were convicted of a criminal offence. If you receive a Record Suspension, you cannot say you do not have a criminal record. You can, however, say that you have been convicted of a criminal offence and that you have received a Record Suspension.
A Record Suspension will mean that your record will be kept separate from any other criminal records at the RCMP or any other government department, and that it cannot be disclosed to any person without the approval of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
However, even if you get a Record Suspension, the police may have access to the record of your name, date of birth, and last known address if they are investigating you at the scene of a crime.
If you received a sentence that included a driving or firearms prohibition and you get a Record Suspension, it does not cancel the prohibition.
A Record Suspension does not guarantee that you will be able to enter or receive a visa to enter another country. Many foreign countries, including the USA, do not recognize Canadian Record Suspensions (or previously, Pardons).
If you have a criminal conviction or any other type of criminal record, and you want to travel to the USA, you should consider applying for a “Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility”. There is a $585 USD fee and it may take several months to be processed. The waiver is valid indefinitely. This procedure may require the disclosure of the suspended criminal record for review by American officials, as well as other personal information. An “Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility” form can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/i-601
For more information on cross-border travel to the United States, see:
You do not have to apply for a Record Suspension if you have not been convicted of a criminal offence (e.g. charges have been withdrawn or stayed).
You do not have to apply for a Record Suspension if you were found guilty of an offence but received an absolute or conditional discharge. After a certain length of time, your absolute or conditional discharge will automatically be purged from the automated Criminal Conviction Records Retrieval System (commonly known as CPIC) maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
If you received an absolute discharge, your record will be purged 1 year after the court ordered your absolute discharge. If you received a conditional discharge, your record will be purged 3 years after the court ordered your conditional discharge.
However, even once your discharge is purged, the police may have access to the record of your name, date of birth, and last known address if they are investigating you at the scene of a crime.
You also do not have to apply for a Record Suspension if you have a youth record, see the Youth Records section.
You can apply for a Record Suspension regardless of citizenship or residence. You are eligible to apply for a Record Suspension when:
1. You have completed all parts of your sentence. This includes:
and
2. You have waited the required time period:
You are ineligible for a Record Suspension if you were convicted of certain serious offences. Specifically, you will not be given a Record Suspension if you have been convicted of certain sexual offences involving children, or if you have been conviction of 3 or more indictable offences, each with a prison sentence of two more years.
You will be denied a Record Suspension if you have been convicted of another offence during this 5 or 10 year waiting period.
You may also be denied a Record Suspension if you have not been “of good conduct”. If your application is refused, you may reapply after 1 year.
The Parole Board of Canada may revoke a Record Suspension if you are later convicted of a summary or indictable offence, they find that you are no longer of good conduct, or they learn that either a false statement was made or important information was concealed when you applied.
You apply for a Record Suspension by submitting a written application to the Parole Board of Canada with the required documentation and fee. To apply, there is a lot of documentation that you must collect. This includes a certified copy of your criminal record, local police checks, court information, military records, and so on.
The application fee is $50. There may also be other costs associated in the application process, like the cost of obtaining a copy of your criminal record from the RCMP or the fees for obtaining records from the courts.
You can get a Record Suspension application form & guide from the Parole Board of Canada.
For help, call their Clemency and Records Suspension Division of the Parole Board of Canada at 1-800-874-2652.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination in employment opportunities if you have a record of conviction and have received a pardon. The Code is not updated to substitute the term Record Suspension for Pardon. If the Code is updated, then a person that has received a Record Suspension will not be able to be discriminated against (e.g. being denied a job because of having a Record Suspension). A person with a criminal record who has not received a Record Suspension or Pardon would not have this legal protection.
Contact the Human Rights Legal Support Centre: 1(866) 625-5179 or the Street Youth Legal Services lawyer at JFCY for more information about your rights under the Human Rights Code when applying for a job.
Employers may also ask for your consent to do a background check during your application process. The depth of the record check will depend upon the type of job that you are applying for, and each police service has a different procedure for disclosing records they have. You must consent to the disclosure of the records requested.
For more information on the access, disclosure and destruction of records held by the police, see the Youth Records and Adult Records sections.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) provides unique rights and procedures for young people between the ages of 12 - 17 who are charged with a criminal offence in Canada.
Going to school is a legal requirement for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. The Education Act gives parents and children specific rights in the publicly funded school system.
In Ontario, you can choose where you live when you are 16 years old. The decision to leave is often not easy and can lead to difficulties in getting all your belongings, having enough money to support yourself and attending school.
Become informed about your legal rights when it comes to decisions about your healthcare and mental healthcare treatment. This includes any procedure carried out or prescribed by a health practitioner to diagnose or treat a physical or mental health condition.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination on many grounds and in many social areas. Specific legal concerns raised by youth identifying in LGBTQI2S communities are about GSAs, Trans and Gender Inclusive Spaces and changing their ID.
You can be given a ticket for breaking a provincial law if you are over the age of 16. Some of the common laws that young people are given tickets for is covered in this section.
Emergency help, criminal court, civil remedy and other supports
In family law, the rights of children are unique. Become informed about going into and being in the care of a Children's Aid Society, when parents can assault you (corporal punishment / spanking exemption to assault), and your right to be heard when your parents are splitting up.
JFCY's Childhood Arrivals and Support & Advocacy Program (CASA) provides services to young people who arrived in Canada as children and are living in Ontario without immigration status.
Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS) is a program that provides information and services for homeless youth between the ages of 16 - 25. These are some of the common issues that the SYLS lawyer is asked about.
The Criminal Records Act was changed in 2012, and pardons no longer exist. Now, if you have been convicted of a criminal offence as an adult, but you have completed your sentence and have been law-abiding since your conviction, then you may apply to the Parole Board of Canada to have the record of your criminal conviction suspended.
A Record Suspension does not change or erase the fact that you were convicted of a criminal offence. If you receive a Record Suspension, you cannot say you do not have a criminal record. You can, however, say that you have been convicted of a criminal offence and that you have received a Record Suspension.
A Record Suspension will mean that your record will be kept separate from any other criminal records at the RCMP or any other government department, and that it cannot be disclosed to any person without the approval of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
However, even if you get a Record Suspension, the police may have access to the record of your name, date of birth, and last known address if they are investigating you at the scene of a crime.
If you received a sentence that included a driving or firearms prohibition and you get a Record Suspension, it does not cancel the prohibition.
A Record Suspension does not guarantee that you will be able to enter or receive a visa to enter another country. Many foreign countries, including the USA, do not recognize Canadian Record Suspensions (or previously, Pardons).
If you have a criminal conviction or any other type of criminal record, and you want to travel to the USA, you should consider applying for a “Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility”. There is a $585 USD fee and it may take several months to be processed. The waiver is valid indefinitely. This procedure may require the disclosure of the suspended criminal record for review by American officials, as well as other personal information. An “Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility” form can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/i-601
For more information on cross-border travel to the United States, see:
You do not have to apply for a Record Suspension if you have not been convicted of a criminal offence (e.g. charges have been withdrawn or stayed).
You do not have to apply for a Record Suspension if you were found guilty of an offence but received an absolute or conditional discharge. After a certain length of time, your absolute or conditional discharge will automatically be purged from the automated Criminal Conviction Records Retrieval System (commonly known as CPIC) maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
If you received an absolute discharge, your record will be purged 1 year after the court ordered your absolute discharge. If you received a conditional discharge, your record will be purged 3 years after the court ordered your conditional discharge.
However, even once your discharge is purged, the police may have access to the record of your name, date of birth, and last known address if they are investigating you at the scene of a crime.
You also do not have to apply for a Record Suspension if you have a youth record, see the Youth Records section.
You can apply for a Record Suspension regardless of citizenship or residence. You are eligible to apply for a Record Suspension when:
1. You have completed all parts of your sentence. This includes:
and
2. You have waited the required time period:
You are ineligible for a Record Suspension if you were convicted of certain serious offences. Specifically, you will not be given a Record Suspension if you have been convicted of certain sexual offences involving children, or if you have been conviction of 3 or more indictable offences, each with a prison sentence of two more years.
You will be denied a Record Suspension if you have been convicted of another offence during this 5 or 10 year waiting period.
You may also be denied a Record Suspension if you have not been “of good conduct”. If your application is refused, you may reapply after 1 year.
The Parole Board of Canada may revoke a Record Suspension if you are later convicted of a summary or indictable offence, they find that you are no longer of good conduct, or they learn that either a false statement was made or important information was concealed when you applied.
You apply for a Record Suspension by submitting a written application to the Parole Board of Canada with the required documentation and fee. To apply, there is a lot of documentation that you must collect. This includes a certified copy of your criminal record, local police checks, court information, military records, and so on.
The application fee is $50. There may also be other costs associated in the application process, like the cost of obtaining a copy of your criminal record from the RCMP or the fees for obtaining records from the courts.
You can get a Record Suspension application form & guide from the Parole Board of Canada.
For help, call their Clemency and Records Suspension Division of the Parole Board of Canada at 1-800-874-2652.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination in employment opportunities if you have a record of conviction and have received a pardon. The Code is not updated to substitute the term Record Suspension for Pardon. If the Code is updated, then a person that has received a Record Suspension will not be able to be discriminated against (e.g. being denied a job because of having a Record Suspension). A person with a criminal record who has not received a Record Suspension or Pardon would not have this legal protection.
Contact the Human Rights Legal Support Centre: 1(866) 625-5179 or the Street Youth Legal Services lawyer at JFCY for more information about your rights under the Human Rights Code when applying for a job.
Employers may also ask for your consent to do a background check during your application process. The depth of the record check will depend upon the type of job that you are applying for, and each police service has a different procedure for disclosing records they have. You must consent to the disclosure of the records requested.
For more information on the access, disclosure and destruction of records held by the police, see the Youth Records and Adult Records sections.
