More from Steve Sullivan available More fromavailable here

Employment Minister Jason Kenney says Canada’s shortage of skilled workers is one of the most serious economic threats facing this country.

You might think any government facing such a serious economic threat would take every reasonable step to make sure that people who want work can find it. But the Harper Conservatives always have a unique interpretation of the word ‘reasonable’.

A few years ago, the government introduced Bill C-23, the Eliminating Pardons for Serious Crimes Act. Bill C-23 was eventually broken up into two parts Bill C-23A — which was expedited — and Bill C-23B, which eventually made its way into Bill C-10, the huge omnibus crime bill.

Bill C-23 was drafted after news leaked out that former hockey coach Graham James had received a pardon for numerous sexual offences committed against former NHL star Sheldon Kennedy. James’ pardon sparked public outrage. So, despite the fact that the government already had completed a review of the pardon system under former Public Safety minister Stockwell Day, the government promised to review the system again — and end pardons for sex offenders.

At a speech he gave to commemorate the 2010 National Victims of Crime Awareness Week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: “We also learned that convicted sex offender Graham James received a pardon, quietly, three years ago. Even though he ruined the lives of boys who just wanted to play hockey, he can travel without having to admit his criminal record. That, too, is offensive.”

Somewhere between cracking down on sex offenders and the introduction of the bill, the government inexplicably decided on a complete overhaul of the pardon process. When he introduced the bill, then-Public Safety minister Vic Toews said: “Our government … is on the side of victims. That is why we are taking action to replace the current system and eliminate pardons for serious crimes.”

The bill was broken into two bills to pass Bill C-23A before Karla Homolka could apply for a pardon. Both bills are now law and pardons are now called ‘record suspensions’. Anyone convicted of sexual offences against minors, or anyone convicted of more than three indictable offences, is no longer eligible for record suspensions.

By making it harder for people convicted of crimes to obtain pardons, the government is making it far harder for those people to find jobs — to support their families, to pay taxes, to make restitution to their victims and find safe housing.

Even some folks who hate Harper’s ‘tough-on-crime’ agenda got on board with preventing people like James and Homolka from getting pardons. In the big picture, the changes won’t change much. The legislation only bars those who offend against minors; it does not bar all sex offenders from applying for pardons. Few sex offenders apply for pardons anyway and are more likely to be turned down, according to a Public Safety study published in 2000. That report found that of the 234,779 pardons granted, less than 5,000 were granted to sex offenders.

The provisions in the new laws that will do the most damage are those that extend the time offenders have to wait before applying for record suspensions. If you have a conviction for a summary offence, you now have to wait five years (up from three) to apply for a record suspension, and ten years (up from five) if you were convicted of an indictable offence.

According to the Canadian Criminal Justice Association, hundreds of thousands of people have received pardons and 96 per cent of them remain in place. By making it harder for people convicted of crimes to obtain pardons, the government is making it far harder for those people to find jobs — to support their families, to pay taxes, to make restitution to their victims and find safe housing. Even the Harper government has acknowledged employment reduces recidivism.

The complete overhaul of the pardon system was never justified as a means to reduce crime; it was, in fact, a stupid thing to do. It works against the interests of public safety. Like a lot of the Harper government’s changes to the criminal justice system, it’s a policy put forth by posturing politicians who are far more interested in looking tough than they are in protecting Canadians or supporting victims.

The results have been predictable — record suspensions have dropped significantly. So while Mr. Kenney is raising the alarm about labour shortages, his own government’s ideology is blocking many Canadians from getting work.

Recently, Justice Minister Peter MacKay committed $20 million to programs to help sex workers exit the life. One assumes they’ll need “legitimate” work to replace the income derived from sex work. But many of these women have criminal records — which means they may have to wait five or ten years to apply for a pardon and start applying for jobs.

In the meantime, sex workers may have to revert to sex work to cover the application fee for pardons — which Mr. Harper helpfully increased to $600. How’s that for irony?

Steve Sullivan has been advocating for victims for almost 20 years, having served as the former president of the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime and as the first federal ombudsman for victims of crime. He has testified before numerous parliamentary committees on victims’ rights, justice reform and public safety issues and has conducted training for provincial and federal victim services. He is currently the executive director of Ottawa Victim Services and a part-time professor at Algonquin College in the Victimology Graduate Certificate Program. His views are his own and do not represent any agency he is associated with.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.