While convicted sex predator and former junior-hockey coach Graham James may have received an official pardon in 2007, prospective employers would be able to see his criminal record if he tried to work with children.
"What a pardon essentially does is that it buries, in a shallow grave, your criminal record," former prosecutor David Butt told Canada AM Tuesday. "If you have been convicted of sexual offences against children however, that will continue to be something the employer can seek access to."
James, whose current location is unknown, was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. He was pardoned in 2007, which only became publicly known earlier this week.
A pardon does not erase a person's criminal record, but means that for non-sex offenders, their record is kept separately from the criminal records stored in the Canadian Police Information Centre.
A person convicted of an indictable offence must have five years of good behaviour before they can apply for a pardon, according to the National Parole Board (NPB).
The board does not consider the persons' crimes when making the decision on whether to grant a pardon. However, a person cannot apply for a pardon if you have received life sentence for a crime, such as murder, or have been labelled "dangerous."
"The Criminal Records Act does not differentiate pardon applicants by the type of offence they have committed, nor does it allow the board to refuse to grant a person a pardon based on the nature of their crime," Caroline Douglas, a spokeswoman for the board, said in a statement yesterday.
Pardons can be revoked for the following reasons:
- If the person is convicted of another offence
- The NPB finds the person to no longer be in good conduct
- The board finds a false statement was made in the pardon application
The overwhelming majority of pardon applications are granted. In the 2006-2007 year in which James was pardoned, 14,748 Canadians were pardoned, and only 103 were turned down.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews made an announcement Monday saying the government wants to do away with "rubber stamping" pardons.
"I think there needs to be a little more direction given to the Board in terms of what they can consider overall, and that these things should not just be rubber-stamped," Toews said. "We're taking a look at the legislation to see how we can consider amending (it)."
"I'm actually quite concerned about certain types of sex offenders getting pardons, especially pedophiles," he added. "In my opinion and in my experience, pedophiles are not easily cured."
