Stigmatized former convicts reluctant to go public for forum on pardon changes

OTTAWA – A public forum this weekend in Ottawa hopes to raise awareness about the impact on individuals of an ongoing government crackdown on criminal pardons.

But the struggles getting Friday night’s forum at the University of Ottawa off the ground illustrate what rehabilitation advocates are up against — a powerful stigma that keeps former convicts in the shadows.

Organizer Samantha McAleese says few people are willing to go public and describe how Conservative changes to the pardons regime have made it harder to find work, housing and even educational programs.

McAleese says her email overflowed with messages from people hurt by the pardons changes after The Canadian Press wrote about the issue last month.

The forum was delayed for weeks as the John Howard Society tried to get more people to tell their stories, but ultimately most of the personal accounts will be told anonymously.

Conservative government changes to the pardon regime, which began in 2010, have made it harder — and in some cases impossible — for Canada’s more than two million ex-convicts to seal their criminal records.