OTTAWA - Canada's strict new regime for granting criminal pardons is turning civil servants into psychologists, spies and even Internet sleuths.
The Parole Board of Canada says it will need more staff, new funding, better training and access to intelligence sources ranging from Facebook to Interpol in order to enforce rules unanimously adopted by Parliament.
The Canadian Press obtained documents detailing the logistical and operational challenges under the Access to Information Act.
The internal notes stress that the impact of last summer's legislative change "has been, and will be, significant."
A law rushed through Parliament in June requires the board to assess the behaviour of pardon applicants to ensure granting one would not "bring the administration of justice into disrepute."
The changes came in reaction to revelations by The Canadian Press that former coach and convicted sex offender Graham James had been quietly pardoned for sex convictions involving three young hockey players.
