Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m M A Y 2 0 1 9 59 W hen the federal government introduced legislation in March to streamline pardons for simple cannabis possession, Canada's criminal bar had two reactions. On the plus side, pardons will "open up new avenues for people" who were convicted of pos- sessing cannabis before the drug was legalized for recreational use in October. On the other hand, pardons don't go far enough; better that criminal records for simple cannabis possession be expunged, defence lawyers say. Bill C-93, tabled in the House of Commons on March 1, would allow indi- viduals convicted of simple possession to immediately apply for a pardon from the Parole Board of Canada provided that any sentences had been completed, all related fines had been paid and the applicant has no other convictions on record. Applications would be reviewed by administrative staff, and applicants would not have to pay the current application fee of $631. In announcing the new legislation, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that the government would not expunge criminal records for simple can- nabis possession because the law that then prohibited it was legitimate. "The record suspension model implies that a person is being 'forgiven' for their crime," says Stephanie DiGiuseppe of Ruby Shiller Enenajor DiGiuseppe, Barristers in Toronto and a member of the Criminal Lawyers' Asso- ciation's Communications and Media Rela- tions committee. "Expungement, on the other hand, implies an acknowledgement that the activity ought not to have been an offence in the first place. "Given the discriminatory actions that underlay cannabis prohibition and the dis- criminatory policing and prosecutorial prac- tices that were a significant feature of cannabis prohibition," DiGiuseppe says, "we believe expungement is a more appropriate model for how cannabis pardons should work." In 2018, the government expunged crimi- nal records in the Expungement of Historical- ly Unjust Convictions Acts for those convicted under Canada's "anti-buggery" laws. The act "recognized that the criminalization of certain activities constitutes a historical injustice" and that the criminalization of sodomy "were it to occur today, it would be inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." In announcing the availability of pardons for simple cannabis possession, Goodale said Ottawa announced streamlined pardons for cannabis possession, but critics say expungement is better By Elizabeth Raymer PARDONS FOR POT POSSESSION C R I M I N A L L E G A L R E P O R T GARY NEILL

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