Criminal Records Regulations (SOR/2000-303)

1.1 For the purposes of paragraph 4.1(3)(d) of the Act, in determining whether granting a pardon to an applicant would bring the administration of justice into disrepute, the Board may consider whether

• (a) the commission of the offence constituted a threat to the safety or security of Canada;

• (b) the offence constituted an offence against the administration of law and justice, within the meaning of Part IV of the Criminal Code, that was prosecuted by way of indictment;

• (c) the offence was a serious personal injury offence, as defined in section 752 of the Criminal Code;

• (d) the commission of the offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor;

• (e) the offence was a service offence

  • (i) that is set out in sections 73 to 82 of the National Defence Act and for which the applicant received a sentence of imprisonment for life, or

  • (ii) that is set out in section 130 of the National Defence Act and that is also an offence referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (d) and (f) to (h) of this section;

• (f) the commission of the offence caused serious physical or psychological injury to another person;

• (g) the offence constituted a fraudulent transaction relating to contracts and trade within the meaning of Part X of the Criminal Code, and any of the following apply:

  • (i) the value of the fraud committed exceeded one million dollars,

  • (ii) the offence adversely affected, or had the potential to adversely affect, the stability of the Canadian economy or financial system or any financial market in Canada or investor confidence in such a financial market,

  • (iii) the offence involved a large number of victims,

  • (iv) in committing the offence, the applicant took advantage of the high regard in which the applicant was held in the community;

• (h) the commission of the offence involved the use of cruelty or the harming of children or vulnerable persons;

• (i) the applicant has a criminal record outside Canada for an offence that, if it were committed in Canada, could have been an offence prosecuted by way of indictment in Canada; or

• (j) the applicant’s criminal record demonstrates a pattern of criminal activity within the meaning of subsections 462.37(2.04) and (2.05) of the Criminal Code or a pattern of increasing gravity of offence.