Justice Minister David Lametti speaks during an interview with The Toronto Star at his office in Ottawa on Thursday, February 7, 2019. (The Toronto Star - Patrick Doyle)

Canadians are now able to apply for no-cost, expedited pardons for simple cannabis possession convictions, the federal justice minister announced on Thursday.

Speaking in Montreal, Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti said the measures of Bill C-93 will take effect immediately.

The new law allows people who were only convicted of a crime of simple possession — which is possession of under 30 grams — to have their record suspended, free of charge (the normal fee is $631) and before the 5-10 year wait period after a conviction usually required before applying for a pardon. People can apply even if they have outstanding fines or victim surcharges, which typically have to be paid prior to a record suspension application.

When someone’s record is suspended, it’s transferred within the National Repository of Criminal Records that’s found through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) to no longer show that someone has an existing criminal record.

“This helps them access employment and educational opportunities and to reintegrate into society,” a Public Safety Canada web page says.

Non-Canadians and non-residents who have simple possession charges are eligible to apply through the new process.

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For a successful application, someone with only a simple possession conviction must prove that it was only for cannabis and not other types of illegal drugs. Through the new program, applicants don’t need to submit court documents to the Parole Board of Canada as long as the criminal record check or police records show their conviction was only for cannabis possession. The board also won’t be able to revoke the pardon on the basis of bad behaviour.

The parole board has set up a webpage to help potential applicants to the new streamlined process, while a frequently asked questions about Bill C-93 can be found here. The parole board also has dedicated a phone line (1-800-874-2652) and email address ([email protected]) to help people navigate this pardon process.

When the government first tabled Bill C-93, Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair estimated that around 70-80,000 Canadians would be eligible for the pot pardon process. Lametti said on Thursday he thinks there could be more than 250,000 people in Canada who have “some-kind of cannabis possession conviction” on their criminal record.

“We’re hoping by expediting this process to make the number of people who have access to the pardon reach into the thousands,” Lametti said.

The Trudeau government legalized recreational cannabis almost a year ago. The Liberals’ promise to legalize the drug was a highly publicized part of their 2015 campaign, though the party never promised to wipe the records clean of people who had criminal records for possession, instead shifting their focus to offering pardons only after legalization.

The Liberals have been criticized by the NDP and some social activist groups, who have argued for full expungement, which is the action of fully destroying someone’s records, for simple cannabis possession charges.

READ MORE: Automatic amnesty for pot possession charges not practical, say Liberals

Some legal activists have argued that by only offering a pardon, someone who was convicted for cannabis possession may still not be able to enter the United States, or other jurisdictions, because even after someone’s record is moved within the CPIC’s database when it’s suspended, border officials may have their own previously recorded data.

This is acknowledged by Public Safety Canada, which says “as with expungement, a pardon does not guarantee a person entry or visa privileges to another country because foreign jurisdictions are not bound by Canadian laws.”

“Any foreign country, including the United States, may have documented previous interactions with individuals, which may include an individual’s Canadian criminal conviction information prior to a pardon being granted,” says the Public Safety website.

READ MORE: Pot pardons plan a ‘token gesture’: Black lawyers group

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