Visitor: I’m a 37 year old graduate student (UBC/English) hoping to volunteer with the vulnerable sector. My problem: a lingering criminal record from a break and enter that occurred when I was 18. Though this should seem like an uncomplicated pardon, it is not. After my conviction, I did not complete my community service or pay my restitution in its entirety. This lead to a new court date, which I did not attend, as I had moved out of the province (the break-in occurred in Ontario; I now live in Vancouver), which then resulted in a prolonged and forgotten about warrant. Six years ago I procured a lawyer, who organized my records, and–after I had finished my community service hours and paid the remainder of my restitution–had my warrant dropped. This was 4 years ago, in September, when everything was finalized. I now, I believe, have only the record from when I was 18: the break and enter (as well as theft under 5000) –I’m not so sure of the nomenclature here, but I think you will understand.

So, my question: Does the 5 year wait period for the pardoning of a summary offence (I think?) begin when I was 18? Or, as I was recently ‘in court’ to drop my ‘warrant’ charge mean that I have to wait the five year period, which would mean that I am only eligible to apply next year?

Pardons Canada: Since your offence was before March of 2012 you are eligible under the old rules which means you can apply for a pardon five years after the end of your punishment. Since your punishment ended about five years ago once you paid the fine and settled the restitution then your eligibility date for pardoning the break and enter offence should be 2021. However, we will only know for certain when we collect all the necessary paperwork to lock in your exact eligibility date.