Mitigating and bordering: The dual nature of Canadian collateral consequences of conviction

Roughly, 13% of Canada’s adult population has some kind of criminal record. Collateral consequences stemming from a criminal record are wide-ranging, from formal restrictions to more informal forms of exclusions. In this article, I argue that Canada exhibits a distinct and dual approach with regard to collateral consequences. A commitment to principles, such as human dignity, rehabilitation, proportionality and individualisation in sentencing, especially by the courts, has increasingly mitigated the impact of collateral consequences in many areas. Yet, these interventions to limit collateral consequences have been far more uncommon for immigration-related collateral consequences, where the impact of a criminal conviction has only expanded in the last decades. This suggests the centrality of the criminalisation of migration in Canada’s bordering regime and its role in drawing boundaries between desirable and undesirable migrants. This dual nature of collateral consequences also sends a message about who is, and who is not, deserving of second chances.