Spratt and McAleese: Our criminal record suspension system needs a fix

It’s been more than 200 years since a hot iron was used to mark permanent letters on the bodies of people convicted of crimes in courtrooms across England – the birthplace of Canada’s common law system of justice. ‘T’ for theft, ‘F’ for felon, and ‘M’ for murder. Though this violent branding no longer occurs, we still mark people through the imposition of a criminal record that is often just as damning.
A criminal record is almost as visible