Performance Monitoring Report 2006-2007

6. CLEMENCY AND PARDONS

The Clemency and Pardons program involves the review of applications, the issuing of pardons and the rendering of pardon decisions and clemency recommendations.

6.1 PARDON PROGRAM

The Criminal Records Act (CRA) was originally created in 1970 to ease, through the granting of a pardon, the stigma of a criminal record for those offenders who demonstrate over an appropriate number of years that they can lead crime free lives. A pardon is a formal attempt to remove the stigma for people found guilty of a federal offence who, having satisfied the sentence imposed and a specified waiting period have shown themselves to be law-abiding citizens.

The last seven years have seen many new initiatives for the pardon program. In 2000/01, an automated system, the Pardon Application Decision System (PADS), came on-line. This automated system was designed to streamline the pardon process in an effort to reduce the processing time while supporting quality decision-making and ensuring a productive use of technology for information sharing. To further improve services, the Board developed a new system - PADS Renewal (PADS-R) which came on-line in December 2005.

While designing, developing and testing PADS-R, the Clemency and Pardons Division had also been continuously accepting new applications as well as taking special measures to reduce the processing time of pardon applications. For instance, cases with summary convictions (minor offences such as shoplifting, causing a disturbance and possession of marijuana) are processed in less than six months.

In 2005/06, the Division saw a substantial increase in the number of pardon applications received. This coupled with the time spent by the Division, during the year, in developing and testing PADS-R and training staff to use the new system resulted in the creation of a backlog of pardon applications. Moreover, in the final quarter of 2005/06, there was a sharp increase in applications received and this increase in volumes of applications received was maintained throughout 2006/07. While the Clemency and Pardons Division of the NPB accepted more applications and rendered more decisions in 2006/07 then in previous years, the increase in volumes meant that the NPB was not a position to reduce the backlog of applications.

Pardon Applications Received and Accepted:

The number of pardon applications received annually has a direct impact on the work environment for the pardons program, particularly when annual application volumes exceed processing capacity and backlogs develop.

Table 173

PARDON APPLICATIONS RECEIVED and ACCEPTED by YEAR
Applications	00/01	01/02	02/03	03/04	04/05	05/06	06/07
Received	19,018	18,016	16,989	16,912	16,958	27,946	26,519
Accepted	4,946	18,518	15,248	16,696	19,681	12,705	27,203
% Accepted	26%	103%	90%	99%	116%	45%	103%

The number of pardon applications received increased substantially in 2005/06 (to 27,946). While the number of applications received decreased by 5.1% in 2006/07, it remained the second highest number of applications received since 2000/01. Factors which influence application volumes include:

• Fee - a decline in the number of pardon applications received was observed after the $50 pardon service fee was introduced in 1995/96. The fee now however, has a smaller present dollar value and marginal impact on those deciding to apply for a pardon.



• Public awareness of the pardon program - The Board does not publicize the pardon program. However, private firms, which assist individuals, for an additional fee, have increased their marketing investments to attract more customers and this has consequently led to an increase in the number of applications received. In addition, when the pardon program receives publicity in the media, pardon applications generally increase in the short term.



• Perceived need for/utility of a pardon - The perceived usefulness of a pardon for employment, travel, etc has increased. One of the reasons for the increased demand for pardons for travel purposes is due to new regulations at the border between Canada and the United States.



• Value - The usefulness of a pardon, the efficiency of the pardon process (i.e. process time), and the amount of the fee charged for a pardon combine to create a perceived value of a pardon for potential applicants. 

The number of applications accepted more than doubled in 2006/07 (  114%) and the proportion of applications accepted to applications received was 103%. The increase in applications accepted as a proportion of applications received was due, in part, to the Division being fully operational with PADS-R as well as continual refinement and streamlining of pardon application processes.

Pardon Decision Trends:

The CRA gives the NPB the authority to grant pardons for offences which are hybrid or indictable if it is satisfied that the applicant is of good conduct and has been conviction-free for five years. Good conduct is defined as no suspicion or allegation of criminal behaviour.

The CRA requires the NPB to issue pardons, through a non-discretionary process, for offences punishable on summary convictions following a conviction-free period of three years. Summary convictions are minor offences, such as shoplifting, causing a disturbance and possession of marijuana.

Table 174

PARDONS GRANTED/ISSUED and DENIED by YEAR
Decision	2002/03		2003/04		2004/05		2005/06		2006/07
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Granted	7,204	49	8,761	55	17,800	78	3,951	46	7,076	48
Issued	7,232	49	6,832	43	4,745	21	4,402	51	7,672	52
Sub-Total	14,436	98	15,593	98	22,545	98	8,353	98	14,748	99
Denied	286	2	265	2	375	2	196	2	103	1
Total	14,722	100	15,858	100	22,920	100	8,549	100	14,851	100

There was an increase of 73.7% in the number of pardons decisions recorded in 2006/07. The grant/issue rate for pardons, after returning non-eligible and incomplete applications, was 99% in 2006/07. It has been around 98%-99% for at least the last ten years.

Pardon Decision Outcomes:

Amendments to the CRA, which became effective August 1, 2000, changed the NPB's authority to revoke pardons.

The CRA gives the NPB the authority to revoke a pardon if the person to whom the pardon was issued or granted is subsequently convicted of an offence punishable on summary conviction, on evidence establishing to the NPB's satisfaction that the person is no longer of good conduct or because of evidence that the person made a false or deceptive statement or concealed information relative to the application. Prior to these amendments, the NPB had the authority to revoke pardons for all subsequent offences that had been dealt with summarily, not just offences punishable on summary conviction.

The CRA also states that a pardon ceases to exist if the person to whom it was granted or issued is subsequently convicted of an indictable offence, an offence that is punishable either as an indictable offence or on summary conviction (a hybrid offence), except for driving while ability impaired, driving with more than 80 mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood or failing to provide a breath sample. The NPB has the authority in these cases. A pardon also ceases to exist if the NPB is convinced by new information that the person was not eligible for a pardon at the time it was granted or issued.

The RCMP notifies the NPB when a pardon ceases to exist due to a new conviction for a hybrid or indictable offence so that the NPB can amend its file as well as notify the agencies contacted at the time of the grant or issue of the pardon.

Table 175

PARDONS REVOKED by YEAR
	2001/02	2002/03	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07
Pardons Revoked By NPB	20	369	534	225	79	133
Cease to Exist (RCMP Authority)	443	533	780	332	377	2,252
Cease to Exist (NPB Authority)						12
Total	463	902	1,314	557	456	2,397

The number of pardons revoked by the Board increased 68% (  54) in 2006/07, while the number that ceased to exist significantly increased by 500% (  1,887 to 2,264). The increase is due, in part, to the elimination of a backlog of notifications of cessations which had accumulated at the NPB as a result of workload pressures in previous years. While the pardons had ceased to exist and the files had been reopened by the RCMP, the NPB experienced a delay in notifying the agencies it contacted at the time of the grant of the pardon. The backlog was eliminated in 2006/07 and notifications of cessations (RCMP Authority) are now being processed as soon as the notification is received from the RCMP.

Table 176

PARDON REVOCATION/CESSATION RATE
Year	Cumulative Pardons Granted/Issued to Date	Pardons Revoked / Ceased during the Year	Cumulative Pardons Revoked/Ceased	Cumulative Revocation / Cessation Rate (%)37
1996/97	227,146	1,272	5,380	2.37
1997/98	234,779	666	6,046	2.58
1998/99	240,255	684	6,730	2.80
1999/00	246,116	643	7,373	3.00
2000/01	260,311	542	7,915	3.04
2001/02	276,956	463	8,378	3.03
2002/03	291,392	902	9,280	3.18
2003/04	306,985	1,314	10,594	3.45
2004/05	329,530	557	11,151	3.38
2005/06	337,883	456	11,607	3.44
2006/07	352,631	2,397	14,004	3.97

The cumulative pardon revocation/cessation rate slightly increased (  0.5%) in 2006/07. Between 1996/97 and 2006/07, the revocation rate increased from 2.37% to 3.97%. While overall there has been an increase in the pardon revocation rate, it remains fairly low and demonstrates that most people remain crime free after receipt of a pardon.

Service and Productivity:

The key aspect of service to pardon applicants is the timeliness of processing of pardon applications. Many factors influence the efficiency of this process including: volume of applications; eligibility of applicants; completeness of applications; and the level of investigation required to support decision-making.

Table 177

AVERAGE PROCESSING TIMES for PARDON APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED
	2001/02	2002/03	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07
Applications Accepted	18,518	15,248	16,696	19,681	12,705	27,203
Cases Processed	17,054	14,722	15,858	22,920	8,549	14,851
Average Processing Time	20 mths	17 mths	17 mths	12 mths	11 mths	13 mths

The average processing time increased to 13 months in 2006/07.This average includes those cases that had been granted priority status and which were usually processed in less than two months. Although the sustained efforts of the Division as well as the implementation of the PADS-R system provided net improvement in the processing of pardon applications, the key factor in determining processing time, which is out of the control of the NPB, is the number of applications received. The numbers of applications received in the past two years, which have been at an all time high, did not allow the Division and the NPB to reduce processing times in 2006/07.

6.2 CLEMENCY PROGRAM

The clemency provisions of the Letters Patent and those contained in the Criminal Code are used in exceptional circumstances where no other remedy exists in law to reduce exceptionally negative effects of criminal sanctions.

Clemency is requested for a myriad of reasons with employment being by far the most frequently used reason. Some of the other reasons include: perceived inequity, medical condition, immigration to Canada , compassion, financial hardship, etc.

Table 178

ROYAL PREROGATIVE OF MERCY REQUESTS
	Up to 1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	Total
Requests	553	49	51	25	20	11	29	21	18	18	795
Granted	150	14	15	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	183
Denied	102	2	3	0	1	2	0	1	1	2	114
Discontinued	290	32	35	26	10	16	4	26	19	22	480

At the end of 2006, there were 18 active clemency cases.

In the last five years, 2 clemency requests have been granted, 6 have been denied and 87 have been discontinued. The majority of requests were discontinued because the client did not provide sufficient information or proof of excessive hardship to proceed with the request.

7. POLICY, PLANNING and OPERATIONS

Staff members in the Policy, Planning and Operations Division are responsible for a wide range of functions including:

• Input to legislative change;



• Policy development and revision;



• Coordination of the Board's strategic and operational planning processes;



• Coordinating the development and revision of national processes for the delivery of the conditional release program;



• Ensuring user needs are identified and met in an automated system to support the delivery of the conditional release program; and



• Aboriginal and diversity initiatives.

Highlights of activities within the Division during 2006/07 include:

• Legislative/Strategic Policy Initiatives - The Division was extensively involved in a wide range of strategic policy or legislative issues with a direct or indirect impact on NPB. These initiatives were related to the government's priority to address a wide range of criminal justice issues. Examples of these initiatives include parole reform and mandatory minimum penalties for various offences.



• B.C. Parole Initiative - In the spring of 2006, the B.C. government announced its intention to disband its provincial Board of Parole. Effective April 1, 2007 , paroling authority for B.C. provincial offenders reverted to NPB. Division staff members were involved in a wide range of activities, in conjunction with many others, to ensure that this reversion was well implemented.



• Conditional Release System (CRS) - Significant work was undertaken throughout the year with Treasury Board and Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) officials in order to move forward with the completion of this automated system to support the delivery of the conditional release program. This resulted in the development and approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with CSC. Under the terms of this agreement NPB transferred resources to CSC which will now be responsible for meeting the Board's information technology needs, including the development of CRS. CSC will develop a system to meet the needs of NPB users.



• Treasury Board submissions - A number of Treasury Board submissions were drafted and/or finalized to request the resources required for NPB to meet its responsibilities. As a result of these submissions, NPB received additional resources to undertake provincial paroling responsibilities in B.C. and to enhance the Board's services to victims of crime. Extensive work was also undertaken to develop a business case and Treasury Board submission to address workload issues with respect to pardons.



• Victims of Crime - NPB received additional resources related to victims' initiatives. Division staff members were extensively involved in planning and preparing for implementation of these initiatives. Most notably, division staff assisted in preparation for the establishment by the government of a Federal Ombudsman's Office for victims of crime.



• Contingency Planning - The Division coordinated contingency planning efforts that were necessary for NPB to meet its conditional release legislative requirements during a time of a shortage of Board members.



• NPB Innovation and Improvement Initiative - The Division was extensively involved in this initiative that was designed to pursue possible improvements in the delivery of NPB programs and corporate support. Initiatives included work in a wide range of areas such as digital recording, video-conferencing, planning, pardons, website enhancement and file reorganization.

7.1 ABORIGINAL and DIVERSITY INITIATIVES

The Board is committed to the development of policies and practices that are responsive to gender and culture. Increasing diversity within the federal offender population poses significant challenges in terms of conditional release decision-making. Further, regional distinctions must also be considered in relation to national commitments.

Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives' activities in 2006/07 continued to address the hearing process and policies for offenders from diverse ethnocultural communities as well as activities in the areas of awareness raising, federally sentenced women and Aboriginal offenders and communities.

The following are some of the activities undertaken in relation to Aboriginal and diversity initiatives in 2006/07:

Federally-Sentenced Women

The "Female Offender Committee" in the Atlantic region has continued its outreach and public education activities. The Committee gave presentations on the role of the NPB and the Committee during the 2006/07 fiscal year to the NPB's partners and stakeholders. Women offenders expressed that they still feel unprepared prior to attending their parole hearings. The Female Offender Committee is committed to continue to work with women offenders at Nova Institution to provide information on the NPB, its policies and the hearing process. Thus, a pilot project was implemented, commencing January 2007. Once per month, a representative of the Committee attends Nova Institution; a videotape of a parole hearing is shown and the representative responds to questions. The feedback on the pilot project has been very positive thus far.

The women are very pleased to get a clear sense of what to expect at the hearing and the Deputy Warden has been very supportive of the initiative. The pilot project is scheduled to continue for the remainder of 2007.

A Community Assisted Hearing (CAH) with a woman offender was held at the Native Friendship Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in December 2006 for a Section 84 day parole release, which was granted. This was the first urban CAH. The Pacific region also held a CAH for a woman offender on the Katzie Reserve, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, on August 27, 2006. There were approximately 70 community members and NPB/CSC staff present at the hearing for a Section 84 day parole release, which was granted.

Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives has been in close contact with CSC's Women Offender Sector as they work to develop and implement classification and assessment tools specifically designed and validated on women offenders. The use of such tools will impact the Board's decision-making activity and it is vital that the NPB maintain close connections as this work proceeds. Training on the status of the classification and assessment tools for women offenders was provided at the new Board Member orientation.

Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives has liaised with CSC as a new program (the "Social Integration Program") has been developed and piloted for women. Once this program is implemented, training will be provided to ensure that Board members are aware of and familiar with the principles of the program and its support to women eligible for release.

In order to raise awareness and understanding of issues facing women and the challenges they have to overcome, Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives commemorated both Women's History Month in October 2006 and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in December 2006. Memos were distributed to staff and Board members explaining the significance of these two commemorative events and red roses were distributed at National office for the latter.

Ethnocultural Offenders

The Cultural Hearings Working Group (CHWG) continued its work in 2006/07. At a meeting in February 2006, working group participants extracted key elements of the Elder Assisted Hearing process which they considered to be fundamental characteristics for all NPB hearings, such as respect, equality, fairness and dialogue. The CHWG recommended that a policy on the "Hallmarks for Quality Hearings" be developed. The Hallmarks have been approved by the NPB's Executive Committee. Board member training, consistent with the Hallmarks, will also be developed.

The NPB submitted two proposals to the Department of Canadian Heritage under their "Inclusive Institutions Initiative", both of which were accepted. Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives proposed the "Interpretation Project" to review and analyse the quality of interpretation services currently being provided at NPB hearings for offenders who do not speak either English or French.

The second project, submitted by the Atlantic region, is a pilot project to have an African Canadian Cultural Liaison to aid African Canadian offenders in preparing for their hearings and to attend hearings to provide advice, clarification and information on matters of African Canadian culture, heritage and tradition to Board members. Both projects are scheduled to be completed in 2007/08.

A Framework for Cultural Competency was developed by Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives. This Framework establishes an action plan for defining cultural competency within the NPB context and to implement cultural competency planning into operational and strategic planning for all regions and National office. The action plan identifies several stages to be undertaken in future years to fully implement the strategy which includes having employees and Board members who fully represent the community they serve, consulting regularly with community groups and organizations, having policies and practices that take into account and make use of the merits and dynamics of difference, understanding the need to respect and accommodate differences in the workplace and creating a fair and equitable workplace that takes advantage of diversity. Operationalizing cultural competency is a gradual process and Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives is committed to continuing to work with Senior Management Committee and Executive Committee members until this work is fully realized.

The National Ethnocultural Advisory Committee (NEAC) held its annual meeting in May/June 2006. The Manager, Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives, is a member of this committee and attended the meeting in Prince George, Saskatchewan. The priorities for NEAC for 2007/08 are: to conduct a comprehensive review of any systemic barriers which may be negatively impacting any groups of offenders; to incorporate Statistics' Canada census identification into OMS-R; to take an integrated, holistic approach to program content to ensure consistent terminology and simple language to be followed up by culturally appropriate program delivery methods; and finally, to provide training to parole officers on cultural competency as it relates to their work with offenders from diverse cultural and ethnic groups. The NEAC held a national symposium in Montreal in March 2007. The theme of the symposium was "Enhancing Cultural Competency in the Criminal Justice System". Several staff and managers of the NPB attended the symposium which provided an opportunity to connect with community representatives and to provide education on the NPB, its mission, mandate and role within the criminal justice system.

Black History Month was marked by Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives, as well as the regional offices, in February 2007, in order to raise awareness and understanding for staff and Board members at the NPB. Memos and a power point presentation were distributed.

Aboriginal Offenders and Communities

The joint CSC/NPB Aboriginal Perceptions training continued to be finalized during 2006/07. Pilot training sessions were offered in Kingston, Ontario and Moncton, New Brunswick. Feedback from these sessions is being incorporated into the final training product. The training consists of several modules and will be delivered over three days.

The annual Aboriginal Circle meeting was held in October 2006 in Rama, Ontario. The Director General of Aboriginal Initiatives at CSC attended the meeting and described CSC's strategic plan for Aboriginal Corrections. Aboriginal offenders wishing to follow a traditional healing path will be identified at intake and directed into the appropriate programming stream. In addition, healing plans for Aboriginal offenders, following a traditional path and working with Elders, will be incorporated into the offenders' correctional plans. Commencing in 2007/08, Board members can expect to see such healing plans in the case files of Aboriginal offenders coming before them. RMCRTs and Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives have been asked to monitor the use and content of healing plans.

In celebration of National Aboriginal Day, Aboriginal and Diversity Initiatives organized for Métis dancers to attend the NPB's annual picnic on June 21, 2006. In addition to giving a dance demonstration, the dancers also gave a brief talk about their culture and heritage and described the meaning of the Métis sashes which they were wearing. The activity was designed to raise awareness and understanding among staff and Board members at the NPB.

Aboriginal awareness training was delivered to Board members in each of the regions. The Prairie region held their bi-annual intensive cultural training in the fall and Board members and staff from other regions were able to participate. The Prairie and Pacific regions alternate with the delivery of the week long intensive training.

³⁷  The cumulative revocation/cessation rate is calculated by dividing the cumulative pardons revoked/ceased by the cumulative pardons granted/issued to date.