OTTAWA — In a bid to block killer Karla Homolka from winning a criminal pardon, the government and opposition parties have joined forces to fast-track a bill through Parliament before she becomes eligible to apply in three weeks.

The parties, after intense negotiations that persisted through the day, agreed Wednesday evening to a revamped version of proposed legislation, introduced in May, which would initially have ruled out pardons for sex offenders and expanded the waiting period before those convicted of serious crimes can apply.

In a twist, the compromise bill abandons the provision that outlaws pardons for sex crimes, but increases the waiting period to 10 years from the current five.

The new bill does not bar manslaughter offenders like Homolka from applying for pardons, but it would empower the National Parole Board to reject applications that would bring "the administration of justice into disrepute."

As a compromise to ensure speedy passage, the government agreed to remove some sections of the original bill, but Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said all the abandoned proposals will be revived in the fall.

"This is a compromise effort by our government to get legislation in place before the summer," said Toews.

He did not name names, but he made it clear that the bill headed for immediate passage would bar Homolka.

The new bill leaves in place the portion of last month's proposal that would deny pardons when it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

However, it would strike out a section that rules out pardons for people convicted of three or more crimes — a provision that critics denounced as an American three-strikes-you're-out law.

The compromise bill would also drop a proposal to rename pardons to "record suspensions" so as to not imply forgiveness.

The government introduced its legislation in May following revelations that sex offender Graham James, a former hockey coach, had received a pardon three years ago.

The Liberals and NDP accused the Harper government Wednesday of manufacturing an urgent crisis to hoodwink opposition parties into supporting the pardon bill with no debate.

"We've got to make sure that Karla Homolka doesn't get a pardon and we want to work with the government to find a way to make sure that happens," said NDP Leader Jack Layton.

Homolka is eligible to apply for a pardon in July, five years after completing her 12-year sentence for her role in the sex slaying of Ontario school girls Kristin French and Leslie Mahaffy.

Now 40, her whereabouts are unknown. Montreal's La Presse reported six months ago that she was living in Ontario and studying law. She has not publicly confirmed she intends to seek a pardon, yet she said while in prison she hoped to be pardoned one day.

The National Parole Board typically rejects about one per cent of completed applications each year because it has had little latitude to turn down offenders unless they had reoffended or been suspected of reoffending since completing their sentences.

Pardons do not forgive criminal records, but rather mask them so they do not surface in background checks.

Sex offenders, however, still turn up in checks if they apply to work with children or other vulnerable people.

Fast-tracking the bill through the Commons before MPs rise for their summer break — expected this week — required unanimous consent from all parties.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff noted Wednesday that the Conservatives reviewed the system soon after coming to office in 2006, but decided against significant changes — and then tried to force through legislation in short order by creating a Homolka crisis.

The Liberals, nonetheless, do not want her to be pardoned, so they were prepared to work out a deal to stop that from happening, Ignatieff said.