Chapter 10 - Waivers, Withdrawals, Adjournments and Postponements

Official Title: Decision-Making Policy Manual for Board Members,
Chapter 10. Waivers, Withdrawals, Adjournments and Postponements

From: Parole Board of Canada

Policy 10.1 Waivers

In Effect

2022-10-24

Legislative Framework

Corrections and Conditional Release Act, subsections 123(2), 123(5), 123(5.1) and 140(1).

Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, section 164.

Criminal Code, section 761.

Process

Waivers of Full Parole Reviews

  1. In accordance with subsection 123(2) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), the Board is not required to conduct a full parole review pursuant to subsection 123(1), 123(5) or 123(5.1) of the CCRA for an offender who has submitted a written waiver of review and has not revoked their waiver in writing.
  2. This includes full parole reviews ordered by the Appeal Division under paragraph 147(4)(c) of the CCRA, in cases where the decision under appeal was conducted pursuant to subsection 123(1), 123(5) or 123(5.1) of the CCRA.
  3. Offenders serving an indeterminate sentence cannot waive their right to a parole review that is conducted pursuant to subsection 761(1) or 761(2) of the Criminal Code. They may, however, waive their right to a hearing.
  4. Offenders serving a sentence of at least two years for an offence involving violence cannot waive their right to a full parole review that is conducted pursuant to subsection 123(5.01) or 123(5.2) of the CCRA. They may, however, waive their right to a hearing.
  5. A waiver of review applies to a specific full parole review and is valid until the next full parole review that is scheduled in accordance with subsection 123(5) or 123(5.1) of the CCRA, unless the waiver is revoked in writing.
  6. In cases where an offender revokes a waiver of review, the revocation is only valid if received in writing by the Board before the date that the review was scheduled to be conducted.
  7. The Board will conduct the review as soon as practicable upon receipt of a valid revocation.

Waivers of Hearings

  1. Pursuant to subsection 140(1) of the CCRA, an offender may waive their right to a hearing that is required by law.
  2. An offender may also waive a hearing that is being held in accordance with subsection 140(2) of the CCRA.
  3. Guidance on mandatory and discretionary hearings is provided in Policy 9.1 (Hearings).
  4. A waiver of hearing applies to a specific review and may be revoked in writing.
  5. An offender who waives their right to a hearing, but not their review, may provide written representations to the Board within 15 days of the date the waiver is signed.
  6. The Board’s review will not be conducted until at least 15 days have elapsed from the date the waiver is signed, unless shorter timeframes are required to meet a legislative or regulatory timeframe, or the offender indicates in writing that they will not provide written representations.
  7. The date that the waiver is signed and the date of the Board’s review are not included in the calculation of the 15-day timeframe.
  8. In cases where an offender revokes a waiver of hearing, the revocation is only valid if received in writing by the Board before it has begun its review.
  9. The Board will conduct the hearing as soon as practicable upon receipt of a valid revocation.

Offenders with Special Requirements

  1. In cases where an offender has been certified or declared legally unable to manage for themselves or where an offender is physically or mentally unable to manage for themselves, but has not been certified or legally declared as such, waivers of reviews and waivers of hearings are considered valid if they are signed by the Parole Officer and:
    1. a guardian appointed by the courts to exercise the rights for the offender has provided documentation consenting to the waiver; or
    2. a psychiatrist, a doctor or the offender’s guardian or power of attorney has provided documentation attesting to the fact that the offender is not capable of participating in a hearing.

Cross-References

  1. Decision-Making Policy Manual

    9.1 Hearings

    10.2 Withdrawals

    10.3 Adjournments

    10.4 Postponements

    11.1 Appeals

  2. Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner’s Directive (CD)

    CD 712-3 Parole Board of Canada Reviews

Policy 10.2 Withdrawals

In Effect

2022-10-24

Legislative Framework

Corrections and Conditional Release Act, sections 101,122(6) and 123(7).

Process

  1. An offender who no longer wants to have their application for a temporary absence or parole reviewed by the Board may submit a request to withdraw their application.
  2. This includes withdrawal requests relating to reviews ordered by the Appeal Division under paragraph 147(4)(c) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), in cases where the decision under appeal was conducted upon application from the offender.
  3. Requests for withdrawals of applications must be submitted in writing.

Temporary Absences

  1. An offender may withdraw an application for a temporary absence at any time prior to the start of the Board’s review.

Parole

  1. In accordance with subsections 122(6) and 123(7) of the CCRA, an offender may not withdraw an application for parole within 14 days of the hearing, unless the withdrawal is necessary and it was not possible to withdraw it earlier due to circumstances beyond the offender’s control.
  2. The date that the Board receives the request and the date of the hearing are not included in the calculation of the 14-day timeframe.
  3. In cases where the Board receives an offender’s request to withdraw their application for parole within 14 days before the date of the hearing, Board members will consider all relevant available information, including the offender’s comments, in order to decide whether to accept or reject the offender’s request.
  4. If the Board members reject the request, the hearing will proceed as scheduled, unless the offender submits a waiver of hearing.
  5. Guidance on waivers of hearings is provided in Policy 10.1 (Waivers).

Decision and Reasons

  1. In accordance with paragraph 101(e) of the CCRA, to ensure a fair and understandable process, in cases where an offender submits a request to withdraw their application for parole within 14 days of the hearing, Board members will:
    1. document whether they accept or reject the request; and
    2. provide reasons in cases where the request is rejected.

Cross-References

  1. Decision-Making Policy Manual

    3.1 Temporary Absences

    4.1 Parole

    9.1 Hearings

    10.1 Waivers

    10.3 Adjournments

    10.4 Postponements

    11.1 Appeals

  2. Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner’s Directive (CD)

    CD 712-3 Parole Board of Canada Reviews

Policy 10.3 Adjournments

In Effect

2022-10-24

Legislative Framework

Corrections and Conditional Release Act, sections 101, 122(3) and 123(4).

Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, subsections 156(5), 157(4) and 158(4).

Process

Administrative Adjournments

  1. The Board may administratively adjourn a review in order to obtain missing information required for the review.
  2. The following types of reviews should not be administratively adjourned:
    1. escorted temporary absence (ETA) reviews;
    2. detention reviews;
    3. reviews following a suspension, cancellation, termination or revocation; and
    4. reviews involving an offender serving an indeterminate sentence.

Adjournments

Temporary Absence and Parole Reviews
  1. In accordance with subsections 156(5), 157(4) and 158(4) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, the Board may adjourn an unescorted temporary absence or parole review for a period of not more than two months where the Board requires:
    1. further information relevant to the review; or
    2. further time to render a decision.
  2. The Board may also adjourn an ETA review for the reasons outlined above.
  3. Generally, a review should not be adjourned more than one time.
Detention Reviews and Reviews Following a Suspension, Cancellation, Termination or Revocation
  1. The Board may adjourn a detention review or a review following a suspension, cancellation, termination or revocation in order to obtain relevant information that is not available at the time of the review.
  2. Detention reviews and reviews following a suspension, cancellation, termination or revocation must be completed within the applicable legislative or regulatory timeframes, unless the offender requests a postponement.
  3. Guidance on postponing reviews is provided in Policy 10.4 (Postponements).
Resuming the Review
  1. Following an adjournment, the same Board members will resume the review from the point at which it was adjourned. In cases where it is not possible for the same Board members to resume the review, a new review is required.
  2. In cases where the Board adjourns a temporary absence or parole hearing, it may render a decision without resuming the hearing if:
    1. the hearing was only adjourned to allow the Board further time to render the decision and no new information was received between the adjournment and the rendering of the decision; or
    2. new information was received between the adjournment and the rendering of the decision, the offender had an opportunity to provide written representations relating to the new information, and the Board’s decision is to authorize or approve the temporary absence, or grant parole.
  3. Guidance on temporary absence and parole reviews is provided in policies 3.1 (Temporary Absences) and 4.1 (Parole).

Decision and Reasons

  1. In accordance with paragraph 101(e) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, to ensure a fair and understandable process, Board members will provide reasons for their decision to adjourn a review.

Cross-References

  1. Decision-Making Policy Manual

    3.1 Temporary Absences

    4.1 Parole

    5.1 Detention

    7.1 Post-Release

    9.1 Hearings

    10.1 Waivers

    10.2 Withdrawals

    10.4 Postponements

  2. Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner’s Directive (CD)

    CD 712-3 Parole Board of Canada Reviews

Policy 10.4 Postponements

In Effect

2022-10-24

Legislative Framework

Corrections and Conditional Release Act, sections 101, 129(5), 131(1), 131(1.1), 135(5) and 141(3).

Corrections and Conditional Release Regulations, sections 147, 156(4), 157(3) and 158(3).

Process

  1. An offender may request a postponement at any time prior to the review or during the hearing.
  2. Requests for postponements must be submitted in writing.
  3. Reasons for the request may include, but are not limited to:
    1. a procedural safeguard cannot be met before the review;
    2. the offender wishes to complete an assessment, treatment or program before the review; or
    3. the offender’s assistant is not available for the scheduled hearing date.
  4. In cases where a postponement will result in a legislative or regulatory timeframe not being met, Board members will ensure that:
    1. the Board has received a written request for postponement from the offender; and
    2. the offender understands that the postponement will result in the timeframe not being met and that, if applicable, they will not be released before the Board renders a decision.
  5. Board members have the discretion to either accept a postponement request or reject the request and proceed with the review. Reasons for rejecting a request may include, but are not limited to, the Board members having reasonable grounds to believe that the offender is abusing the postponement process (e.g. to avoid having a hearing in the presence of an observer).
  6. If Board members accept a request to postpone a review, the review should be conducted or resumed as soon as practicable, but generally no longer than four months following the month that the review was originally scheduled.
  7. In cases where the offender revokes in writing their request to postpone the review after it has been accepted, the review will proceed as soon as practicable.

Detention Reviews and Reviews Following a Suspension, Cancellation, Termination or Revocation

  1. In cases where Board members accept a request to postpone a detention review or a review following a suspension, cancellation, termination or revocation, the review must be completed within the applicable legislative or regulatory timeframe, unless the offender requests that the review be postponed beyond that timeframe.
  2. Pursuant to subsection 135.1(2) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), the period of commitment of the offender following a suspension of long-term supervision must not exceed 90 days. Postponements beyond this timeframe will result in a loss of jurisdiction to cancel the suspension under paragraph 135.1(6)(a) of the CCRA and to impose terms of cancellation under subsection 135.1(8) of the CCRA, and should be limited to exceptional cases where a procedural safeguard cannot be met.
  3. Additional guidance on timeframes for reviews following a suspension of long-term supervision is provided in Policy 8.2 (Offenders with a Long-Term Supervision Order).
  4. To avoid loss of jurisdiction, postponements of interim detention reviews are not possible.

Information from Victims

  1. In cases where the Board accepts a postponement request at a hearing, victims in attendance may present statements that were previously submitted to the Board and disclosed to the offender in accordance with Policy 1.4 (Disclosure of Information to Offenders). No other statement may be presented.

Decision and Reasons

  1. In accordance with paragraph 101(e) of the CCRA, to ensure a fair and understandable process, Board members will:
    1. document whether they accept or reject the offender’s request to postpone a review; and
    2. provide reasons in cases where the request is rejected.

Cross-References

  1. Decision-Making Policy Manual

    1.1 Information Standards for Conditional Release Decision-Making

    1.4 Disclosure of Information to Offenders

    5.1 Detention

    7.1 Post-Release

    8.2 Offenders with a Long-Term Supervision Order

    9.1 Hearings

    9.3 Assistants at Hearings

    10.1 Waivers

    10.2 Withdrawals

    10.3 Adjournments

  2. Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner’s Directive (CD)

    CD 712-3 Parole Board of Canada Reviews

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