A national pardon advocacy group is trying to promote the benefits of pardoning to the trucking industry. The group claims that the trucking industry is facing a shortage, and by pardoning minor offences, more workers would be available to fill these positions.
In 2012, the Conservative government quadrupled the application fee for all pardons and also introduced much longer waiting periods. The new Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale, has promised to structurally change the system and this could mean getting rid of the specific policies set under the previous government.
For most truck driving positions, the employee is required to bondable and thus able to cross the border. Statistically this means that currently one in eight Canadians is not allowed to pursue a trucking job in the transportation sector. The majority of charges are from impaired driving, cannabis possession, and other minor offences.
Chuck Mercier, vice-president of Pardon Services Canada and former deputy police chief in Durham, sees more pardons as a win-win situation. “We support the current federal government’s plans to revisit the changes to the pardon system which punitively increased fees and wait times. We’d also like to see the transportation industry support these untapped candidates. The workers would benefit from a career that allows them to prove their worth and support their families, while the industry would benefit from an increased pool of available workers.”
With these potential opportunities that could be gained by those seeking pardons, it shows that there are industries that have no direct relation with cannabis that will ultimately benefit when legalization finally happens at the federal level.