WEAGAMOW LAKE — Ontario Provincial Police say they’re encouraged by what they’re calling the early successes of a pilot project aimed at helping people apply for criminal pardons.
The Pardon Project aims to help people who are eligible to receive a criminal record suspension, also known as a pardon. The OPP, Nishnawbe Aski Legal Services, the Parole Board of Canada and the Northwest regional division of Ontario Court Services has piloted bringing these services specifically to First Nations — with Weagamow Lake First Nation being the first.
“We know that the justice system hasn't always treated Indigenous people fairly, and this is a small but, I hope, a meaningful way to help right some of those historical wrongs,” said Karl Duewel, a staff sergeant with the OPP’s Northwest Region Headquarters.
More than 20 pardon applications were completed this June over a two-day period in Weagamow Lake, also known as North Caribou Lake or Round Lake, Duewel said, “and many more community members came in and had some important questions answered.”
Anyone can apply to the parole board for a record suspension. However, Duewel said the process can be lengthy and “intimidating,” and the goal of what the pilot aims to achieve is to make it more accessible.
“What we're trying to do is, make filling out these forms less complicated for people,” he said. “Even myself and the other members of my team, when we're looking at them the first time, they can be quite cumbersome to fill out.”
Data from the federal Department of Justice shows that Indigenous people are overrepresented in the Canadian criminal justice system.
"The Pardon Project is a huge stepping stone for the future of North Caribou Lake First Nation,” Stallone Quequish, community prevention and intervention manager at Nishnawbe Aski Legal Services, was quoted as saying in an OPP media release.
“It is such an amazing sight to see members of my home community taking advantage of this amazing opportunity.”
Not only does the pilot involve in-community work, Duewel said, but communities will be informed ahead of time when the partners will arrive and what people will need to bring with them — like having two pieces of ID and a certified money order covering the $50 application processing fee.
He said the pilot is slated to next be in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug.
“We learned a lot through this process, and we are not only committed to bringing this process to other First Nations communities, but we will also be returning to North Caribou Lake to keep that momentum going, so we can continue this important work,” Duewel said.
He added that the pilot also involves training officers stationed in the communities with this knowledge “so that once we're we've left, they can help the next person that comes in as well.”
Overall, he said, it’s a worthwhile initiative.
“We want to help them be able to move forward, be able to get jobs, be able to get passports, travel, work with youth, share their stories, those kinds of things,” he said.
“To me, that's really important.”
