Fees Report 2022-2023
From: Parole Board of Canada
About this Publication
Publication author: Parole Board of Canada
ISSN 2562-119X
Chairperson’s Message
I am pleased to present the Parole Board of Canada’s (PBC) report on fees for 2022-23.
The Service Fees Act provides a modern legislative framework that enables cost-effective delivery of services and through better reporting to Parliament, improves transparency and oversight.
This report provides details on each fee under the organization’s authority, the service standard, and the performance result. This information provides additional context on each fee, in the spirit of open and transparent fee management.
Effective January 1, 2022, the record suspension application fee was reduced to $50.00. The previous higher fee of $657.77 represented a significant barrier for individuals with a criminal record to apply for a record suspension. By lowering the application fee, access to record suspensions has increased for a greater number of individuals, and research has demonstrated that a record suspension facilitates access to employment, housing, education, and other factors that support sustained reintegration. With over a full year completed under this processing fee, the PBC has seen a 47% increase in record suspension applications compared to the previous fiscal year. Finally, this reduction in fee is helping to alleviate pre-existing barriers for those disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system.
All record suspension applications accepted during the 2022-23 fiscal year exercise were not subject to the PBC’s Remission Policy as the $50.00 processing fee is considered low materiality. However, remissions were issued on applications that were accepted in previous fiscal years.
I appreciate the increased transparency and oversight that the Service Fees Act reporting regime embodies. The PBC is committed to following the framework that reflects these requirements.
______________________________
Jennifer Oades
Chairperson, Parole Board of Canada
About this report
This report, which is tabled under section 20 of the Service Fees Act, the Low‑Materiality Fees Regulations, and subsection 4.2.8 of the Treasury Board Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities, contains information about the fees the Parole Board of Canada had the authority to set in fiscal year 2022–23Footnote 1 .
The report covers fees that are subject to the Service Fees Act.
For reporting purposes, fees are categorized by fee-setting mechanism. There are three mechanisms:
- Act, regulation or fees notice
The authority to set these fees is delegated to a department, minister or Governor in Council pursuant to an act of Parliament. - Contract
Ministers have the inherent authority to enter into contracts, which are usually negotiated between the minister and an individual or organization, and which cover fees and other terms and conditions. In some cases, that authority may also be provided by an act of Parliament. - Market rate or auction
The authority to set these fees is pursuant to an act of Parliament or a regulation, and the minister, department or Governor in Council has no control over the fee amount.
For fees set by act, regulation or fees notice, the report provides totals for fee groupings, as well as detailed information for each fee. The PBC did not have fees set by contract, market rate or auction.
Although the fees the PBC charges under the Access to Information Act were subject to the Service Fees Act, they are not included in this report. Information on PBC’s access to information fees for 2022–23 is in our annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Access to Information Act, which is posted on our web page: Access to Information and Privacy.
Remissions
In 2022–23, the PBC was subject to the requirement to issue remissions under section 7 of the Service Fees Act and subsection 4.2.4 of the Treasury Board Directive on Charging and Special Financial Authorities to remit a fee, in whole or in part, to a fee payer when a service standard was not met. The PBC’s remission policy and procedures, pursuant to the Service Fees Act, are on the following web page: Record Suspension Application Processing Fee – Remission Policy.
The section below provides detailed amounts for the PBC’s remissions in 2022–23.
Overall totals, by fee-setting mechanism
The following table presents the total revenue, cost and remissions for all fees that the PBC had the authority to set in 2022–23, by fee-setting mechanism.
Overall totals for 2022–23, by fee-setting mechanism
| Fee-setting mechanism | Revenue ($) | Cost ($) | Remissions ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees set by act, regulation or fees notice | 655 283 | 9 016 265 | 2 302Footnote 2 |
Totals, by fee grouping, for fees set by act, regulation or fees notice
A fee grouping is a set of fees relating to a single business line, directorate or program that a department had the authority to set for those activities.
This section presents, for each fee grouping, the total revenue, cost and remissions for all fees PBC had the authority to set in 2022–23 that are set by the following:
- Act
- Regulation
| Revenue ($) | Cost ($) | Remissions ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 655 283 | 9 016 265 | 2 302Footnote 3 |
Details on each fee set by act, regulation or fees notice
This section provides detailed information on each fee that the PBC had the authority to set in 2022–23 and that was set by the following:
- Act
- Regulation
Fee grouping
Record Suspension Application Fee
Fee
Record Suspension Application Fee
Fee-setting authority
Minister’s authority, Order in Council 1995-698
Pardon Services Fees Order (justice.gc.ca)
Year fee-setting authority was introduced
1995
Last year fee‑setting authority was amended
2022
Established processing times
Not subject to service standard requirement.
Although there are no legislated service standards attached to the new $50.00 application fee, the PBC will continue to process applications in a timely manner and endeavour to adhere to the established processing times:
- Summary offence: within 6 months of application acceptance.
- Indictable offence: within 12 months of application acceptance.
- For applications where the Board is proposing to refuse to order a record suspension or deny a pardon, it can take up to 24 months for a final decision.
Performance result
In 2022-23, the PBC received a total of 16,121 record suspension/pardon applications and accepted 11,617 for processing. Accepted applications were not subject to service standards but were processed in accordance with the PBC’s established processing times. Accepted applications were successfully processed within the PBC’s established processing times at the rate of 99.22%.
Average processing time for record suspension applications:
- Containing offences tried summarily: 139 days;
- Containing offences tried by indictment: 306 days; and
- Where the PBC refused to order a record suspension: 335 days.
Average processing time for pardon applications:
- For pardon issued: 38 days;
- For pardon granted: 301 days; and
- Where the PBC denied a pardon: 517 days.
Application of Low‑Materiality Fees Regulations
Low-materiality (<$51)
2022-23 fee amount ($)
50
2022-23 total fee revenue ($)
655 283
2022–23 total remissions issued for the fee ($)
Fee adjustment date in 2024-25
Not applicable
2024-25 fee amount ($)
50
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