Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will use the notwithstanding clause if necessary to make information from the sex offender registry public as he eyes changes to the system.
Currently, the Ontario Sex Offender and Sex Trafficker Registry is accessible to police enforcement agencies but not to members of the public.
On Monday, Ford indicated he was planning to change that.
“We’re going to make sure the sex offender registry is out there in public,” he said. “And sure, we’re probably going to get shot down from the courts again, but I’ll use every single tool available to make sure we protect victims over sex offenders.”
The premier said he would use the notwithstanding clause “in a heartbeat” to keep his planned law in place if a judge finds it unconstitutional.
“Nothing is more important to protect our community,” he said. “Protect them from people like these — I can’t even put the word out there, they’re a bunch of diddlers. I can’t stand them, they make me sick.”
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The premier did not say exactly what parts of the registry would be made available to the public, although he said he believed people should know if a sex offender was living in their area.
The policy plan comes after the Supreme Court struck down a one-year mandatory minimum jail sentence for accessing or possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material, finding it unconstitutional.
In a 5-4 decision, the top court said although the sentences contribute to the objectives of denunciation and deterrence, they also remove judges’ discretion to impose sentences other than imprisonment when appropriate.
“What was the Supreme Court thinking?” Ford said on Monday. “Who are you in favour of?”
A decade ago, the Supreme Court ordered the Ontario government to release a database of sex offenders by postcode after fighting not to for six years.
The list, however, is not proactively updated or available.
Last year, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner introduced changes to Christopher’s Law, which established the sex offenders registry.
The changes meant registered sex offenders cannot legally change their names. It also required registered sex offenders to disclose their email and social media accounts, and report any changes to their usernames.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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Ford government open to using notwithstanding clause to publish sex offenders registry
