Again, I have not been here much due to an uptick in business from the Biden election. J.R. does not seem to understand that some people in Canada are self-employed business owners. A lot of our clients could not care less about a pardon since it does nothing for them and their company.

So logically, we tend to shy people away from wasting their money on them unless they are not self-employed and are working a 9-5 job. Then in some cases, a pardon may be required. We also have clients that work in real estate and do not have pardons. I was told by them that the real estate board in BC does not necessarily hold a conviction against a person depending on the particulars.

Also, note that I never said that I was an "expert" in waiver cases. This word is reserved and used by an individual clearly lacking in this particular skill set on this forum. My agency resolves border crossing issues and has years of experience along with the necessary tools and connections to facilitate such an endeavour. Hence, there is no need to use the word "expert" since the proper denotation has already been obviously established by us as clearly and unquestionably documented

J.R., unquestionably it is difficult but at least try to keep up with the line of questioning and comprehension in the future.

Ken Scott
Senior U.S. Immigration Law Intelligence Analyst
www.usentrywaiverservices.com
888 908-3841
604 332-9213

@KenScott

Again, you know nothing about Pardons. But that is ok, you claim to be a waiver expert, not a pardon expert.

A criminal record in Canada makes you close to unemployable. Worse, we are in the middle of a pandemic, and unemployment is at an all time high.

Waivers are generally useless when you can't hand them in, or use them.

So massive unemployment, and getting worse, means...jobs are scarce.

Jobs are scarce, you need MORE qualifications, connections, whatever.

A criminal record makes this WORSE. So pardons VERY useful, Waivers useless.

I hope I have clarified this.

Sorry my friend but again you are not fully aware of the services that we offer or our structure. Again, I personally feel that pardons are a waste of money unless they are for the previously mentioned reasons. I agree that you should leave pardons to the professionals since Ontario Discount Waiver companies often do not have the training and experience to properly prepare these cases.

I still stand by the fact that most people can complete their own pardon if they wish. Our people are often self employed and do not care about a pardon since it does absolutely nothing for them. Also, a number of our people have US Immigration violations and American federal court cases. Hence, a pardon does them no good. I still discourage the ones with the Canadian convictions from applying for pardons since they are not worth the money

It is true though that a US Entry Waiver client will rarely win on an appeal.

Ken Scott
Senior U.S. Immigration Law Intelligence Analyst
www.usentrywaiverservices.com
888 908-3841
604 332-9213

@Ken Scott

1. You stated MANY times here you do not do pardons and even said you referred them elsewhere. This is the FIRST time you have EVER mentioned doing a pardon, and you have NEVER mentioned doing a "pardon appeal".

2. When you talk about Waivers, you can tell you have experience because you use the correct terms and verbiage. You do not when you talk about Pardons. (you sound like a client trying to sound like they know what they are doing)

3. "Propose to deny" is one thing, I am sure despite your inexperience you could probably handle it, but an entire pardon is a different animal. I hope you were transparent and told the client you "don't usually do these" remember, if you fail, he will lose his $644.88 AND have to wait a year.

4. You need an actual office, with a follow-up system, and a database with all the courts, Police departments, and knowing WHAT is required for each individual offences. For example, sexually based offences are are very specific, and some pardons are not pardons. 2010, 2012, Cannabis pardons etc. This is someone's TRUST you are accepting. You have to be set up to do these applications, a follow-up system and a proper way to move paperwork is ESSENTIAL

5. You should leave these applications to professionals, why would someone pay you to "find your way"? You need to WARN them that you don't have "experience" with this application.

Yeah right we have never done one..lol I guess that is why I am looking at an invisible pardon case on my desk right now that has a proposal to deny by the pardon board for 2013 & 2015 charges that did not result in a conviction. I guess the Canadian government just put the good conduct model in the pardon regulations for fun then? I guess pages 164 & 165 in the Pardon board Decision Making Policy Manual do not exist?? Hmmm…

Oh and the Measurable Benefit Section is on page 167 of the manual. The client did not follow the good conduct model and they may deny him now. Think I will read the pardon case (minus any identifying information) on our next talk radio show episode since we do not do any pardons..lol. But yeah, I guess that we have never done a pardon..lol

It is a shame that you will not be honest here and tell people that the Canadian govt is extremely strict on giving out pardons to people since Harper changed everything. The people can easily click on the links and read the regulations themselves. They can likely even do their own pardons and do not need to hire Batman's Pardons and Waivers in Toronto. I have previously stated too many times that you have no idea what we do.

The problem is that these pardons are major cash cows for the Discount Waiver Companies and they will fight to the very end to keep them going. They know or should know the strictness surrounding these cases by the Canadian government and will not warn people about these issues as I am doing here.

Yes, we are also in the pardon business, and even I tell people that pardons are essentially a waste of money unless you need one for employment. They can save Batman's $499 fee and just focus on preparing their own packets, pay the local police check fee and the $644 govt fee.

Also, why would someone in the pardon business tell people to not waste their money on a pardon? The reason is that there are more common people around right now that have tight budgets. There is no sense in them wasting their money on something that will have little benefit other than possibly employment, obtaining a security clearance, or get bonded. Tim the truck driver in Toronto does not need a pardon since it does nothing for him.

Furthermore, the vast majority of our clientele are not even remotely interested in pardons since they see that there is little benefit in obtaining one. A small number have asked me if it was worth getting one and I have told them all no and to save their money.

We are under a pandemic and I will not focus on negativity though.

Ken Scott
Senior U.S. Immigration Law Intelligence Analyst
www.usentrywaiverservices.com
888 908-3841
604 332-9213

@KenScott

Pardons are much more work than waivers. Every time you talk about them, I can tell you have never done one.

Unlike a waiver, the "measurable benefits" section (which is like a personal letter) is easy to complete.

When clients get a "propose to deny" 90% of the time I can win them on appeal. A waiver is a whole different ballgame. For example we have 2 staff that work on pardons here, but I handle all the waivers myself. (And I do all appeals, pardon or waiver)

I have had difficult Pardon denials for clients who have actually been convicted of manslaughter, or vehicular homicide. All granted on appeal. (I get a LOT of referrals for pardons that are denied) Waivers are completely different. Appeals RARELY work.

Ignore the "good conduct" section, it means little in terms of getting a pardon. I have caught the parole board officer LYING and when I bring it up, you can actually be quite aggressive with the Pardon Unit and still win. I argued that the entire denial was based on racism in one case, called the parole board "white racist middle managers" and the client STILL got his pardon. I actually enjoy abusing them, because many of them are die-hard Conservatives.(The party certain civil servants donate to is publicly available) There are supervisors who are nice (one in particular) and she is so nice it is impossible to be mad at her.

How bad can the parole board be? When the fee went up in 2012 many clients BEAT the deadline and submitted pardons with $150. The PBC actually sent a letter saying "we aren't going to work on these NOW unless you send $631. But we will hold on to them and work on them when we have time. Guess when they LOOKED at them. 4 years later when Trudeau became PM. Then they started to return some and say "client cannot be contacted". Needless to say, I LOST it on them and forced them to do the pardon. Unlike Homeland Security, this is a govt agency you CAN push around at times.

People should also be aware and review pages 165-166 of the good conduct section in this manual. I say this since this manual is used in adjudicating a pardon. The good conduct section basically means that the pardon board can deny your pardon if they feel that you have not been of good conduct. An example is that you have a 1995 conviction for car theft in Ontario but have 3 theft charges from 2016 to 2018.

Specifically, you were not convicted of Theft, but the board can say that you have essentially not been following the good conduct model to be deemed eligible for a pardon. What this means is that you will get denied for your pardon. Yes, they will write back and allow you to make a written representation as to why you should get approved.

However, the end result is that it is unquestionably within their power to either accept or not accept your explanation. Most of our people are not interested in pardons since they do not see the benefit in them. I say that they are mostly good if you need one to gain employment. We only do them if a client critically needs one.

Anyway, pardons are a big cash cow for the Discount Waiver companies. The Canadian govt can indeed be strict in terms of approving pardons. A lot of people can likely get away with doing their own pardon, pay the $644 govt fee, and save some money if they review the links below. Complex border crossing cases are a different story though since the USA laws are far more complex.

https://www.youtube.com/user/PBCclcc

https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board/services/record-suspensions.html

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pbc-clcc/documents/manual-manuel/Decision-Making%20Policy%20Manual%20-%202nd%20Ed.%20No%2018%20(2020-09-22).pdf

Ken Scott
Senior U.S. Immigration Law Intelligence Analyst
www.usentrywaiverservices.com
888 908-3841
604 332-9213

@Zang

in YOUR case, 10 years PLUS the sentence

hmm just checked and it's Indictable offense that i got not summery . So in QC it's still 10 yrs ?

@j rogers . Oh so i guess i got Indictable , i think i remember you saying in certain provinces the liberals rolled it back to 5 yrs ? I did i hallucinate this ?

Man i could swear i got summery . Not sure anymore cause i was told in french .

@Zang

Summary is 5 years plus the sentence. Indictable is 10 years plus the sentence. Summary was NEVER 10.

Probation, fines or restitution can all be part of the sentence.

@jrogers , so let me see if i understand . i was found guilty in 2015 with a summery offense so i was told i needed to wait 10 yrs due to harper before getting a pardon. Is it back to 5 years now ?

@Zang The entire country is now the same. Before March 2012 its 3 and 5 years (plus the sentence) after its 5 and 10 years 9plus the sentence)

Before March 2012 summary conviction, you are eligible for sure.

After March 2012 Summary it is 3 years PLUS sentence. Start about a year BEFORE you are eligible. If you are considering Michelle, she does excellent work.

whats the situation with Quebec regarding the time it takes( 5 yrs or still 10) to get a pardon for summary offense .

@John, LOL..I use that same logic, I refer to "if there the stayed or withdrawn charge would have been a conviction, client would be eligible to for the Pardon under the guidelines" . I find Alternative measures, abit more tricky, then I refer to Conditional and Absolute Discharges, where a person has to admit guilt same as Alternative measures, if C. and A. can be purged automatic, why should Alternative Measures..be a problem..

@Michelle @Jazzsax1

There are some appeals I write that are what you expect, typical "I have changed I beg you to reconsider" types, but if I see a Pardon being rejected for reasons I suspect are racist, or arbitrary, I actually write very aggressively. I will not accept a bunch of middle class white civil servants living in Ottawa passing judgement on a client who was arbitrarily "questioned" by police because he was a black male in a bad area.

One of my favorite tactics is to point out that if the person WAS convicted, they would be eligible for a pardon anyways, therefore you CANNOT deny them a pardon based on the fact they were merely CHARGED. (If the facts back that up)

The parole board before 2012 was a very impartial and I felt "fair" body. When Stephen Harper made his changes, and appointed a bunch of people who had donated to his party to the parole board (and that information is all publicly known) the board became a different animal. Why would the parole board need to see PICTURE ID of an applicant? Because someone might be paying, with your fingerprints somehow to seal your criminal record? I argued with the Parole Board and Conservative MP's about this. No one has ever fraudulently "sealed" a record for someone else. But the Pardon officer wants to see a "face" when giving a pardon...for what? Why does this white pardon officer need to see the color of the persons skin...and make a judgement based on that?

I caught Mark Hummel. pardon officer LYING. He was a defence lawyer from St Catherines, conservative volunteer and donated money to the party. He was rewarded with a plum position. He LIED about a police report and tried to deny a pardon for a Pardons Canada client. Luckily, I am ALWAYS thorough. I got the police report and DEMANDED Mark Hummel be removed. They granted the client the pardon instead. I NEVER get a pardon from that officer.

Notice I am not afraid to use his name? Because I have the PROOF. And when you have the evidence and tell the truth, you have nothing to fear.

@John and Jazzsaxx1..John explained the Propose to Deny correctly and when and why they can happen. I also agree, unlike Waiver appeals, Propose to Deny can be easily won, with back up documents and carefully worded appeal letters. I find that in many cases, the Propose to Deny is a weak attempt to deny a Pardon, and if you can provide a strong comeback, you will usually win. Just my opinion.

@Jazzsax1

"Propose to deny" in MOST cases is because the person had police contact AFTER their last conviction. So in most cases its not arbitrary. Because we do fingerprints, we get clients from different pardon companies that do not fingerprint frequently. This, and because I get a lot of referrals, leads to me doing a LOT of these appeals.

Two simple examples.

"Steve" has a criminal record, last conviction in 2010. In 2016, he had an argument with his neighbor, police were called. Whether charges were laid or NOT, a police report will result in an automatic propose to deny. If Steve has a reasonable explanation, we have no problem overcoming to propose to deny and he gets the pardon.

"Dave" has a conviction in 2012 and in 2018, he is pulled over by police for 'driving while black' and cocaine is found in his car. He goes to court and the charge is dismissed because the police had NO REAL REASON to search is car. He gets a propose to deny, but he is NOT getting a Pardon.

"Bill" sold a friend a gun in 2009 and he went and killed a little girl. He has been out of trouble since. He could get a Propose to Deny just because a pardon "would bring the administration of justice into disrepute". He gets a propose to deny. He COULD get the pardon if he says the right things. That is usually what people pay me for.

I have had 4 clients in the past few months who were like "Bill". Their cases were "icky". (people died and the PBC were afraid it would look bad to give them a pardon)

Waiver letters allow a certain degree of creativity, but I would say writing up Pardon appeals is my "favorite", especially if its challenging. Unlike a waiver appeal that rarely is successful, I can usually get a pardon appealed successfully. Or at least I will know right away if there is a chance.

Was this under the old rules (5 years) or new rules (10 years) for the provinces they apply to?

You would think that for someone who had an "I" conviction and not an "S"... and went through their whole sentence.... and then the 10 years.... (in my case would be 15 at pardon)... and then showed a whole pile of reformation and everything else they would consider not denying those.

Funny how they say our system is based on restorative justice, reformation, etc, but you can't even remove something over time.

@John, The parole board is famous for doing this, especially if it is an "I" conviction, they will wait until the full year is up, then send the propose to deny...I just got one too last week.. :(