The Canadian government missed its legislated deadline to implement a program to pardon citizens with possession records, the CBC reports. The initiative, introduced by legislation in 2022—four years after legalization—was designed to remove the burden of past convictions by requiring all possession records to be sequestered. This process would ensure that such records no longer appear in background checks, providing relief for thousands of Canadians.
However, the deadline passed last month without full implementation. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the delay stems from the labor-intensive nature of manually validating and setting aside records.
“This work requires extensive research and significant effort,” the RCMP stated.
Legal experts like Annamaria Enenajor, a criminal defense attorney and former director of Cannabis Amnesty, were not surprised by the delay.
“You can’t just press control-alt-delete and have them all disappear,” Enenajor explained to the CBC. “There would have to be a coordinated effort on the part of the federal government to work with provincial governments and various law enforcement entities around the country. And I just haven’t seen that happening.”
In October, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc issued a ministerial directive instructing the RCMP to refrain from disclosing simple possession records during background checks unless required by law. While this move temporarily alleviates some issues, it does not address the long-term need to fully implement the pardoning program.
The government has not provided a new timeline for completing the process, leaving many Canadians in limbo as they wait for the promised relief. This delay highlights ongoing challenges in balancing policy reform with logistical execution, even as the legal industry continues to grow.
