Hull-Aylmer MP pledges to help clear pot offenders' records

A west Quebec MP is pledging to help some of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians with marijuana convictions get their criminal records cleared but they'll have to wait until after legalization.

GregFergus, the Liberal MP for Hull-Aylmer,said he'll be seeking remedies for some of the 500,000 Canadians who hesaid have a criminal record related to simple possession of marijuana.

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"I will be one of the first people at the door saying let's start getting busy and sharpening our pencils to try to figure out how we can best deal with this,"Fergussaid.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he would not consider issuing amnestiesor creating anexpedited pardon program until after cannabis is legalized in July 2018.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has also said officialsare examining "all the legal implications forpossible pardons, or record suspensions, for criminal records for cannabis."

Charges, convictions dropping

There has been a precipitous drop in the number of charges for simple possession of marijuana in Ottawa, from 341 charges in 2012 to 216 in2016 the most recent year data is available from Statistics Canada.

Ottawa lawyer MichaelSprattsaid that anecdotally he's seen a decline in the number of peoplecharged with marijuana possession over the last year.

Spratt also said he'sbeen getting phone calls from clients anxious to clear their criminal records inlight of the new law and he'sfrustrated with how long it's taking the federal government to consider expeditingthe pardon process.

"There seems to be no interest from this government to work on the pardon issue, despitethe promise of a review," Spratt said.

In 2010, Parliament passed legislation that doubled the waiting period for people to apply for arecord suspension more commonly referred to as a pardon.Sprattsuccessfully had Ontario courts strike down the extension as unconstitutional, and asimilarcase in B.C. came to the same conclusion.

Still, someone charged today wouldstillhave to waituntil at least 2023 beforebeing able to apply for a pardon on a simple possession charge.

Sprattsaid that while he's seenfewer middle class Canadians charged withmarijuana possession, he continues todefend marginalized individuals on the same charges.

Black, Indigenous Canadians

Fergussaid that whether the solution is a pardon or some kind of amnesty he hopes thediscussion considers the growing evidence that a disproportionate number of people convicted of marijuana possession comefrom black and Indigenous communities.

Research suggesting higher conviction rates for small amounts of marijuanapossession, Fergus said, "leads to the uncomfortable conclusion that there's something systemic at workwhere more black folks are charged, remanded and convicted."

He said he's not advocating for different laws for different Canadians, however.

"I just wantpeople to understand how we got here," Fergus said.

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Fergusalso said the decision to exclude people with criminalrecords from participating in the soon-to-be-legal industry needs to be more nuanced.

"It sounds like it's a good idea," he said.

"But if there is systemic racism which caused thesepeople to have criminal records, it seems we'reonly perpetuating the discrimination that would [end with them]not having the same economic opportunities. So it's not an easy situation."