When should I begin preparing for the various conditional releases?
Start preparing for conditional release from the first day of your sentence. Document the things you do and issues that arise during your time in prison. This will also be important if disciplinary charges are ever filed against you or incorrect information is inserted in your file. Keep track of everything you do: courses, programs, work reports, education, evaluations, community supports, volunteer projects (i.e. planning and organizing an event or speaker).

Always keep a paper copy of all your documents including correspondence concerning your release applications (i.e. request for information from schools, half-way houses, employers, child care arrangements), and any documents or notices presented to you by CSC staff regarding your prisoner record, any correspondence with your lawyer, the National Parole Board (NPB), Correctional Investigator or other agency working on your behalf. When in doubt, keep the document.

Keep all of your documents and records in a safe place, such as your prisoner designated safe box. However, you will undoubtedly be subject to cell tosses on occasion, and some prisoners are afraid that some things might get ‘damaged or accidentally destroyed’ in this process. You might want consider sending your documents to a person that you trust outside of the prison to hold for you.²²⁶

Do I have to apply for conditional releases or are they automatically considered?
The only automatic review the NPB is required to conduct is before your full parole eligibility date and every two years after that. In all other circumstances (with the exception of accelerated parole) you have to apply for the parole review. The NPB is not required to accept an application for review within 6 months of your last review, and can take 6 months from the time they accept your application to make a decision. Therefore, if you are denied parole your case will probably not be reviewed for at least 1 year.

The NPB will usually review an application before the required time if they receive a complete parole package with a recommendation from CSC for your release. The difficulty in this approach is that you have to obtain the support of your case management team and persuade them to do all the necessary case preparation before they are actually required to do so. All documentation must be received at least 21 days before the scheduled review. If they do not receive the documentation in time, the NPB may postpone (you request the review to be moved to a later date) or adjourn (the NPB reschedules the review for another date, your consent is not necessary) the review.

Most parole reviews are made according to the eligibility dates calculated at the start of your sentence. As stated earlier, Sentence Management will provide you with a calculation of these dates on your intake.