Accelerated Parole Review (“APR”) allows earlier parole for non-violent first-time federal prisoners. Prisoners eligible for APR can be released on parole after serving 1/6 of their sentence or 6 months, whichever is longer.

In 2011, APR was abolished. However, the Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Attorney General) v Whaling ruled that the retrospective application of the legislation abolishing APR violated section 11(h) of the Charter. So prisoners sentenced before March 28, 2011 are still eligible for APR.

Subsequent cases across the country have further expanded APR eligibility.

In Ontario, prisoners convicted and sentenced after March 28, 2011 may still be eligible for APR in narrow circumstances. For example, prisoners may be eligible if they committed their offences prior to March 28, 2011. They may also be eligible if they committed a continuous offence that started before March 28, 2011 and continued after this date.

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