Speech - Bill S-212 (automated criminal record expiry)
Honourable senators, I rise in support of our colleagues at the Legal Committee who worked diligently to study Bill S-212 on automated criminal record expiry. They reported back nearly seven months ago. I’m glad that this chamber finally adopted this report and that we are now at third reading consideration of this bill.
Colleagues, it is now time to move forward on this bill.
When we launched the African Canadian Senate Group in December 2021, my colleagues and I identified Bill S-212 as a priority connected to our work with community members for progress on issues of justice, health and economic fairness.
At committee, witnesses — including the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime, the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, Aboriginal Legal Services and even the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police — all underscored that Black, Indigenous and racialized people are systemically overrepresented in the criminal legal system and systemically disadvantaged by the current unjust and inaccessible record suspension system.
Bill S-212 allows records to expire without an application process, provided that the individual has no subsequent charges or convictions for two to five years. It would help people overcome barriers created by civil record checks that prevent access to things like housing, jobs, education, volunteer work and other necessities for integrating safely and successfully back into their communities.
At the same time, in response to concerns raised by some police services, Senator Pate amended the bill at committee to ensure that police can continue to use information in expired records as part of legitimate investigative work.
The data and evidence shared at committee make it clear that Bill S-212 will enhance public safety. It will help ensure that people are not trapped in the same situations of poverty, isolation and marginalization that led to their criminalization in the first place. It will be a small step toward correcting past failures to provide justice and ensuring equity for BIPOC communities. It will provide hope and paths forward. Colleagues, this should be an urgent priority for all of us here.
Through measures in Bill C-5 aimed at redressing systemic racism, the government has committed to implementing automatic record expiry for drug possession records by this fall. This is an important first step toward justice for some. Bill S-212 will increase access to these much-needed measures.
In urging that we act with haste, I want to focus particularly on the consequences of criminal records for children and families.
The majority of BIPOC women in prisons are mothers. The majority of their children have been taken away from them into the care of the state as a result of their incarceration, meaning that separation from children is a heartbreaking, hidden tragedy and added punishment not only for mothers but for their children too.
For women with criminal records who are fighting to reunite with their children or to prevent their apprehension, searching for jobs to try to lift themselves and their children out of poverty or in need of safe housing to provide their families with stability, obtaining a record expiry is essential.
Bill S-212 is a much-needed step toward ensuring that the stigma, injustice and marginalization associated with criminal records are not lifelong or intergenerational.
Senator Pate has previously shared the story of a child who was excluded from class field trips and special activities because no one could provide the additional parental supports that he needed in order to take part. His mother could have — she was there; she was able — but despite presenting herself as no risk to public safety, she had a criminal record and could not volunteer for the school. Her child suffered. Other children suffered because of this. The current system requires that those in her situation must wait 10 years for a record suspension. Time is fleeting and children grow quickly; 10 years is a lot of time for a child.
In the seven months that this bill has sat at the report stage and in the more than five years since the first version of this bill was introduced in this chamber, how many parents have we hindered as they tried to do their best for their kids? How many children have we asked to go without?
Colleagues, I urge you to vote in support of this bill.