Pardons Canada: How Can I Get a Pardon if Fine Was Not Paid?

Visitor: To the best of my abilities, these are the charges I’ve had in the past:

• Driving under influence and evading arrest – convicted – approximately 20 years ago – Surrey, BC 
• Possession and Production of cannabis – dismissed – 15 years ago – Chilliwack, BC 
• Possession and Production of cannabis – dismissed – 12 years ago – Barrie, Ont
• Possession with intent to traffic – dismissed – 11 years ago – Toronto, Ont

I believe my finger prints were taken every single time. The 2 last charges were in Ontario and should be noted that I have only ever been found guilty of the first charges.

My problem is, I’ve only recently paid the court fines for the first charge (the 20 years old one) and read that my wait time would not start until all court fines are paid. I was hoping there was some way around that. Are there any special circumstances that I could apply for? 

I don’t know if this would help, but the drinking driving and evading arrest was something that I did while I was young and stupid and took full responsibility for. Shortly after that, my best friend was murdered and I started a downward spiral that eventually lead to alcohol dependency and homelessness. So the issue of the court fines was out of sight and out of mind. Thankfully I was able to recover from that and now have a young family with a beauty wife and 3 wonderful kids. Furthermore, I’ve been a functional member of society for many years and currently I am a graduate student at a reputable university doing a PhD in Chemistry as well as working in cancer research. The criminal record has never affected me before but recently I was trying to get a part time job doing delivery for Uber Eats to supplement my income so that I could help provide for my young family but was declined due to my criminal record. Please advise on how to proceed.

Pardons Canada: The law is black and white about the eligibility for a pardon being after the punishment even if the fine was paid 20 years late. There is no way around this aspect of the law.

Pardons Canada undertakes all necessary steps and procedures for removing your criminal record, including: Pardons/Record Suspensions, Purges, Photograph & Fingerprint Destruction, and U.S. Entry Waivers.