When Steven Deveau describes his frustration with the process to suspend a criminal record, he keeps coming back to two women.

The women were hoping to attend a nursing program. But because of their records from past convictions — and small unpaid fines related to those convictions — they were barred from applying.

They came to Deveau seeking help with a record suspension. He’s a case manager with Pardon Me, a free service based in Dartmouth, N.S., that began offering peer support for people going through the record suspension process last year.

But Deveau had to tell them they weren’t eligible.

“When we have these barriers, then we’re really keeping people out of the workforce, and where they got that momentum going with changing their lives, it’s very discouraging.”

In Canada, the record suspension process is lengthy and complicated, and many Canadians continue to encounter barriers to work, school and housing. While changes have been made to streamline the process, advocates say there’s more work that needs to be done.

“Let’s stop giving people life sentences,” said Deveau. “Because that’s what we’re doing, right? We’re giving people life sentences in the community.”

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CBC News
January 2, 2024