So after taking some time off to get married and go on my honeymoon, I’m back! It was a crazy time leading up to the wedding, but I enjoyed myself very much (best wedding I’ve ever been to . Now it’s time to get back into the swing of things…  I’m thinking of writing a series of blogs about limited partnerships, partnerships, shareholder agreements and the like over the next few weeks.  But first, it’s time for me to give a proper opinion about the digital O.R.s.  I know: it’s been a while since I said anything about them.  But now everyone wants an opinion…  So why not just write it here?

written by admin \\ tags: Michael Carabash

Toronto business lawyer Michael Carabash (me)

Hi there.  My name is Michael Carabash.  I am a Toronto business lawyer and the founder / president of www.DynamicLawyers.com.  I can help you with your various legal and business needs.  I’ve helped many different clients with various legal issues, including:

• Drafting legal documents
• Negotiating deals with other parties
• Helping to resolve conflicts that arise
• Helping to ensure that your business complies with government laws

I’ve helped clients and blogged extensively about:

• Corporations
• Partnerships
• Limited Partnerships
• Sole Proprietorships
• Joint Ventures
• Franchises
• and other business vehicles (e.g. independent contractors).

I’ve given away tons of FREE legal information to help educate my clients before they come to see me.  I’ve written a number of eBooks on various business topics (e.g. tax, business structuring, complying with legislation, etc.).  If you’re not in Toronto, then we have other business lawyers who can help you (e.g. Brampton business lawyers, Mississauga business lawyers, Hamilton business lawyers).  But if you’re looking for a Toronto business lawyer, then contact me directly!

written by admin \\ tags: business lawyer, Michael Carabash, toronto business, toronto business lawyer

Remember: if you are looking for a pardon or record suspension, try a Canadian Pardon | Record Suspension Service.

Following up on my last blog, where I talked about certain proposed amendments to the Criminal Records Act (as discussed in the Public Safety Canada’s website), I have now had the opportunity to look at the actual text of Bill C-23, Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act.  So now I’ll offer my two cents again in light of what the proposed legislation actually says (instead of what the government website says).  Now I won’t be going through all of the changes – just the more significant ones.

Long Title of Act
The Long Title of the Act changed from “providing relief” to “suspending records”.  As previously discussed, this is part of the government’s stance of not wanting to be in the business of “pardoning”, “forgiving”, or otherwise “relieving” those who have been convicted of criminal records.

Effect of Record Suspension
So my initial thoughts were correct: the effect of a record suspension is more or less the same as a pardon.  So getting a record suspension means that criminal records held in the RCMP’s Identification data banks (which are supported by fingerprint information) are hidden from view.  Specifically, pardoned criminal records are kept separate and apart from other criminal records so that the prying eyes of employers, volunteer organizations, immigration officials, police, courts, U.S. border agents, and others generally can’t see them.

Restrictions on Application for Record Suspension
Here’s the amendment I’m having difficulty with.  The proposed section 4 says that a person will only be eligible for a record suspension after they have served their sentence: 10 years for indictable offences (more serious crimes) up from 5 years, and 5 years for summary conviction offences (less serious crimes) up from 3 years.

I’m actually inclined to question the government’s motives of wanting to make applicants wait longer before applying for a record suspension.  Sure, it makes the government look good (“tough on crime”) by extending the waiting period.  But why else should we agree to it?  Does the government know something that we don’t? Are there reports or statistics showing that way more time is needed for rehabilitation? If, based on the current waiting periods, over 96% of those who have received pardons (approximately 400,000 since the pardon system started) have kept them, that what problem are we trying to fix by making people wait longer?  In fact, unless there is proof to the contrary, making people wait longer actually prevents them from living fuller lives earlier.  Remember: there are approximately 3.4-million records in the RCMP’s Identification data bank and many of them are eligible for a pardon.  Not having a pardon means that they expose themselves to discrimination AFTER they’ve done their sentence.  This is strictly prohibited by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms: section 11(h) says that once you’ve been convicted and punished for a crime, you’re not to be tried or punished for it again.  But those with criminal records are constantly being punished – for example, when they try to go to the U.S. on a family vacation, apply for a job, adopt a child, volunteer, immigrate to Canada, etc.  Many of these people aren’t hard-wired criminals; they are generally law-abiding and tax paying citizens who were deviant in their younger years.  I just don’t see the reason why the government wants to extend the timeline for applying; doing so could cause more harm than good.

Sexual Offenders
This proposed section makes it extremely difficult for anyone convicted of an offence of a sexual nature to be eligible for a record suspension.  The sexual offences are listed in Schedule 1.  The only way a person convicted of one of these offences can still get a record suspension is if: (1)  the person was NOT in a position of trust or authority towards the victim and the victim was not in a relationship of dependency with him or her, (2) the person didn’t use, threaten to use, or attempt to use violence, intimidation or coercion in relation to the victim, AND (3) the person was less than 5 years older than the victim.  The person has the BURDEN of proving these 3 conditions to the Board’s satisfaction.

Convicted of 3 Indictable Offences
A person will be ineligible to apply for a pardon if they were convicted of more than 3 indictable offences.

Record Suspension
This proposed section gives the Board the power to suspend the applicant’s criminal record if it is satisfied that: (1) the applicant has been of good conduct during the relevant waiting period (i.e. 10 years or 5 years, depending on the seriousness of the offence) and not convicted of an offence under any Act of Parliament AND (2) for indictable offences, ordering the record suspension would: (i) provide a measurable benefit to the applicant, (ii) sustain the applicant’s rehabilitation in society as a law-abiding citizen, and (iii) would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute.  The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate the first two things, but no the last one.

Factors which the Board MAY consider
OK, so finally the Board may consider a whole slew of factors when determining whether to order a record suspension.  Recall that this is what I had previously recommended.  Among other factors (which may be prescribed by the Public Safety Minister by regulation), the Board may consider:

(a) the nature, gravity and duration of the offence;

(b) the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence;

(c) information relating to the applicant’s criminal history and, in the case of a service offence, to any service offence history of the applicant that is relevant to the application.

Inquiries
What’s new hear is the Board’s ability to make inquiries, with respect to applicants convicted of indictable offences, into ANY FACTORS that the Board MAY consider in determining whether ordering the record suspension would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

Disclosure of Decisions
The Board may now disclose decisions to order or refuse to order record suspensions.  However, it may not disclose information that would reasonably be expected to identify an individual (unless that person consents).

There are more changes to the Act, but these are by far the most sweeping…

If these changes actually become law, I might have to change what I’ve already written about the pardon system in my forthcoming book, “Erase Your Criminal Record”.

written by admin \\ tags: bill c-23, Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act, erase your criminal record, Michael Carabash, pardons, record suspensions

I guess the media is getting sick of reporting about me.  Over the past year and a half, I’ve been featured in over 40 media spaces (including newspapers, magazines, legal trade publications, radio, TV, etc.).  So when the Lawyers Weekly asked me to write my own column about the future of legal services, I said “Sure!”.  Now I could control the message and not get mis-quoted!  I could also interview those personalities I thought the media had overlooked – such as Nancy Kinney.  So here’s my first (of hopefully many) articles – this one happens to be in the Lawyers Weekly:

written by admin \\ tags: future of legal services, lawyers weekly, Michael Carabash

Remember: if you are looking for a pardon or record suspension, try a Canadian Pardon | Record Suspension Service.

So today my blog post about the history of criminal records was featured in the Globe and Mail.  In that post, I talked about how the pardon system used to be administered by a special committee of Cabinet.  Pardons were handed out by that committee and the National Parole Board was merely a recommending body.  That all changed in 1992, when changes to the Criminal Records Act made the National Parole Board the exclusive administrative body to issue or grant pardons.  The National Parole Board is supposed to be independent and impartial from others (e.g. Cabinet).  Here’s where what I wrote in my blog was mentioned:

It used to be that the RCMP would contact neighbours, employers and others to check up on applicants for pardons, according to Toronto lawyer Michael Carabash, who is writing a book on pardons. The decision to grant or deny a pardon belonged, until 1992, to a special committee of cabinet, based on a recommendation from the parole board. It is now entirely within the board’s purview.

Be sure to check out all 14 blog posts which I’ve written so far about criminal records in Canada.  Also, my book (entitled “Erase Your Criminal Record”) should be coming out in a few months…

written by admin \\ tags: criminal records in canada, globe and mail, Michael Carabash, pardons

Remember: if you are looking for a pardon or record suspension, try a Canadian Pardon | Record Suspension Service.

Bruce Cheadle and Jim Bronskill of The Canadian Press wrote an article today entitled “Screening guide oversight underscores confusion over pardoned sex offenders”.  In it, they quote me as saying how disjointed Canada’s criminal record system is:

Lawyer and author Michael Carabash says the disparate criminal records system is a disjointed mass of confusing data.

“The criminal records system needs a complete overhaul. How can people expect to know anything about criminal records if it’s unclear to me, a lawyer who has researched the damn thing for months?”

written by admin \\ tags: criminal records system canada, Michael Carabash, the canadian press

Remember: if you are looking for a pardon or record suspension, try a Canadian Pardon | Record Suspension Service.

Neil Morrison of CBC (in Ottawa) was the reporter who broke the story about how Prime Minister Harper had already vowed to correct the problems with the Criminal Records Act back in 2006.  Basically, nothing was done.   Then I went on CBC Radio One yesterday morning and talked about how minor legislative tweaking could have solved the problem of allowing certain extreme examples (e.g. violent offenders and sexual offenders) from receiving pardons.  Here’s the story and here’s where I am quoted:

“According to Michael Carabash, a Toronto lawyer and the author of the forthcoming book “Criminal Records in Canada,” changing the way the parole board issues pardons is unlikely to take three and a half years. Such a change would require only a tweak of the current Criminal Records Act.

This morning on The Current Carabash said, “it could be a simple sentence in the Criminal Records Act that says the minister of public safety will have the authority to list certain criteria that the National Parole Board has to follow.”

According to Carabash, in 2000, new amendments were added to the Criminal Records Act that dealt specifically with sexual offenders and the changes were passed into law within a year.

So in summary, in 2006 the government said they were going to change the way pardons are granted to sexual offenders. It’s not difficult to make those changes. But as we saw this week, the government is still puzzled about how it is that the parole board can give pardons to these sorts of sexual offenders.

written by admin \\ tags: cbc radio one, Michael Carabash, minor tweaks to the criminal records act

Remember: if you are looking for a pardon or record suspension, try a Canadian Pardon | Record Suspension Service.

So apparently, the Graham James episode that’s currently being played out in the press was not the first of its kind in recent history.  Indeed, in October 2006, the Globe and Mail reported that Public Safety minister Stockwell Day had asked the National Parole Board to review the process for granting pardons to individuals convicted of violent or sexual offences.  Here’s what Stockwell Day’s then communications chief (Melisa Leclerc) stated on his behalf: “We want to ensure that unwarranted pardons are not granted to violent or sexual offenders” (Timothy Appleby and Peter Cheney, “Day calls for review after sex offender obtains pardon”, The Globe and Mail (October 21, 2006), A2).

WOW!  Kind of similar to what present day Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and Prime Minister Harper recently stated, eh?

Stockwell Day had made those comments in light of a pardon that had been granted to notorious private school teacher Clark Noble.  Noble had been convicted of sexual assault in 1998, pleaded guilty, served his conditional sentence and then pardoned in 2006.  “[Stockwell Day] has expressed concern,” Ms. Leclerc said.

So nothing happened from then until now…

Now public outcry, politicians and the media are all focusing on Graham James.  James was a hockey coach who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting hockey players back in 1997,  served 3.5 years in federal prison, and then received a pardon in 2007.  Stephen Harper’s spokesperson is saying that Graham James’ pardon is “deeply troubling and gravely disturbing”.  Even Public Safety Minister Vic Toews stated: “I’m actually quite concerned about certain types of sex offenders getting pardons, especially pedophiles.” Hmmm….

So will anything happen this time?  Perhaps, because today’s events are coinciding with NHL star Theoren Fleury’s new book and Sheldon Kennedy speaking up about being sexually abused, the government will actually do something…  Otherwise, strike two…

written by admin \\ tags: criminal records in canada, graham james, Michael Carabash

Janice Tibbetts of the Canwest News Service interviewed me today and published an article about how sex offenders are only a tiny portion of those who have historically received pardons.  I was interviewed because of my forthcoming book about criminal records and some of the statistics that I crunched in certain chapters.  This article went everywhere.  And I mean EVERYWHERE.  Here’s the list of newspapers that featured the article that I’m aware of:

• National Post
• Ottawa Citizen
• GlobalTV
• Global Saskatoon
• Global National
• Global Winnipeg
• Montreal Gazette
• Edmonton Journal
• CHBC News
• Times Colonist
• The Star Phoenix
• Calgary Herald
• Canada.com
• The Windsor Star

written by admin \\ tags: criminal records in canada, janice tibbetts, Michael Carabash

Tomorrow morning, I’ll be appearing as a guest to talk to Anna Maria Tremonti of CBC Radio One’s The Current.  The topic: pardons, criminal records, and political posturing (oh yeah!).

I’ll try not to rehash what’s already been said.  My beef isn’t really with the pardon system (which may only need a few minor tweaks), but with the criminal records system.  Having written a book about criminal records and pardons (due to come out in a few months), I can honestly tell you that it is a story of confusion, fear, and frustration. There is hope at the end of the day (if you have a criminal record).  And that hope comes in the form of having your criminal record removed, destroyed, purged, etc.   So, in the next series of blogs, I’ll be discussing these things in greater detail (besides, it helps me prepare for tomorrow’s interview!).

I’ll be on CBC Radio One from 8:30 -9:00 a.m.  Be sure to tune in!

written by admin \\ tags: anna maria tremonti, canada, cbc radio one, criminal records, Michael Carabash, pardons, the current