An Act to amend the Criminal Records Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts and to repeal a regulation

Bill S-207 was a Senate Private Member's Bill amending the Criminal Records Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-47) to expand the federal record-suspension (formerly pardon) framework. The 2012 Harper government's tough-on-crime reforms (Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, S.C. 2012, c. 1) raised record-suspension waiting periods from 3 to 5 years for summary offences and from 5 to 10 years for indictable offences. The bill would have restored the pre-2012 waiting periods, particularly benefiting people with old convictions seeking employment, housing, or international travel. The Parole Board of Canada has processed approximately 4,000 record-suspension applications annually since 2012 (down from approximately 20,000 annually before 2012). Did not pass third reading.