Cannabis Pardons Could Top 10,000 in Canada
Cannabis Pardons “Guessed” at 4 Per Cent of 250,000 People – LPC
According to a Globe and Mail report (please see link below), approximately 10,000 cannabis pardons could be in the works. However, Public Safety Ministry spokesperson Scott Bardsley stressed that the number shouldn’t be treated as a hard number.
“These estimates should be treated as a guess, not a definitive count,” Mr. Bardsley in an e-mailed statement to the Globe. “There is no way to know how many people will be eligible and will apply before the policy is in place.”
The numbers are taken from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), which handles drug crime cases. There have been approximately 250,000 convictions for people carrying 30 grams or less of cannabis. Bardsley said an estimated 4 per cent of those convicted may be eligible for a cannabis pardon. That is much less than the 70,000 to 80,000 estimate released earlier this month by Bill Blair, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction.
The new cannabis-amnesty bill, Bill C-93, was tabled in parliament two weeks ago. It would eliminate the five-year waiting period and $631 fee for cannabis pardons.
Cannabis Pardon in Bill C-93 Doesn’t Go Far Enough, Some Say – LPC
However, critics say the bill doesn’t go far enough. They say those convicted should have the opportunity to expunge these convictions from their records.
Murray Rankin, the NDP’s deputy justice critic, said that the bill unfairly leaves it up to individuals to clear their names.
“If indeed there are only 10,000 to be rescued by this reform, doesn’t that make the argument even more strong that the human resources required to expunge their records is not nearly the task that we thought when it was hundreds of thousands?” Rankin said.
The difference between a cannabis pardon and expunging is that the conviction remains on your record. For example, that can lead to problems crossing the border to the United States since the US would not recognize the cannabis pardon. That could change with the possible cannabis legalization in the US.
Rankin also stated he wasn’t sure the bill would be passed before the general election this year. Rankin submitted a separate bill that would expunge records for those eligible for a cannabis pardon.
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