Mandate and Role

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) is an independent administrative tribunal that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety. The PBC is part of the Public Safety Portfolio.

The PBC has exclusive authority under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to grant, deny, cancel, terminate or revoke day parole and full parole, and authorize or approve temporary absences. The PBC may also order certain offenders who have reached their statutory release date to be held in prison until the end of their sentence, upon referral by the Correctional Service of Canada. In addition, the PBC makes conditional release decisions for offenders in all provinces and territories except Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, which have their own parole boards.

The PBC also has legislated responsibilty to:

• order, refuse to order and revoke record suspensions under the Criminal Records Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.
• order or refuse to order expungement of a conviction under the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act (Expungement Act).
• make recommendations for the exercise of clemency through the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.

The legal authorities under which the PBC operates include:

• the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) and its Regulations,
• the Criminal Records Act (CRA) and its Regulations,
• the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act,
• the Letters Patent,
• the Criminal Code,
• the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
• the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, and
• other legislation.

In carrying out its responsibilities, the Board is guided by its vision, mission and values.

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister of Public Safety's mandate letter.