Should the sex offender registry be public? Where provinces stand
Global News
The federal government is proposing a series of updates to the National Sex Offender Registry but making it public remains prohibited by law.
There are no plans yet to make a national sex offender registry public in Canada even as the federal government rolls out amendments to the current list.
Ottawa is proposing a series of updates to the registry, but making it public remains prohibited by law.
Currently, only Canadian police services have access to this database through their provincial and territorial sex offender registry centres.
Even though provinces cannot make the information from the national registry available to the public, “some provinces have explored creating separate registries or notification systems to address particular safety concerns within their jurisdiction,” said Diana Ebadi, a spokesperson for Justice Minister David Lametti.
“Police agencies must use the personal information in the database only for police purposes and as authorized by law,” she told Global News in an email Friday.
In recent years, there have been calls in Canada to make the sex offender registry public, with proponents arguing they should have the right to know if they are living next to someone who has been convicted of a sexual crime.
A petition launched three years ago signed by more than 37,000 people made this demand, saying a public registry “would create a safer environment for all.”
“Unlike in the United States, we are unable to know if these adults have already been convicted of previous sex crimes,” the petition said.