Statutory release

In most cases, offenders sentenced to a federal correctional centre are automatically released from custody to serve the last third of their sentence in the community.

You are released whether or not you have received or requested parole. For example, you may not have applied for parole or may have been refused full parole before serving two-thirds of your sentence.

You will be supervised and you may be given additional conditions when you are released. This is referred to as statutory release.

You will not be given a statutory release if you are serving a life sentence or the exact period of your sentence is not known. Also, if the Parole Board of Canada believes you may commit a serious crime, such as murder, a serious sexual or drug-related offence, they usually do not allow statutory release.

Difference between full parole and statutory release

Parole and statutory release are both ways of releasing you into the community after you have served a part of your custodial sentence. The main differences between full parole and statutory release are:

• You can apply for full parole after you have served one-third of your sentence or seven years (unless you are serving a life sentence for murder). It is up to the Parole Board of Canada to decide whether to grant parole; and
• In most cases, you will automatically be released on statutory release after serving two-thirds of your sentence and will serve the last one-third of your sentence in the community

The Parole Board of Canada may impose additional conditions on your release.