Global Courant 2023-04-27 02:57:53
The federal government has introduced legislation that, if passed, would make changes to Canada’s sex offender registry to specify which categories of sex offenders should be added to the national tracking system, while allowing judges the discretion to exempt those not at risk from relapse.
The proposed changes to the current law come in response to an October 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found it unconstitutional to require automatic registration of all people convicted of sex crimes and too wide a scope to require mandatory lifetime registration for persons convicted of more than one sexual offense in the same case.
Canada’s Supreme Court struck down related provisions of the Penal Code, giving Parliament a year to act on the decision, prompting the federal government to go back to the draft table or risk courts losing the ability to lose to order offenders to register after October 2023. the Registry of Offenders itself was introduced in 2004 with discretion from the Prosecutor and Judiciary, the amendments objected to by the Supreme Court were filed under Conservatives in 2011.
Framed by the Liberals as an effort to strengthen Canada’s national sex offender registry, Bill S-12 proposes developing registry requirements to remain compliant with the Charter by:
Adjustment of the registration criteria for sex offenders, so that serious underage sex offenders and repeat offenders of sex offenders are automatically registered; Require all other sex offenders to register if they cannot demonstrate that they do not pose a threat to the community; and Adding crimes, including involuntary sharing of intimate images and extortion, to the list of crimes that could result in offenders being placed on the national sex offender registry.
Bill S-12 was presented in the Senate by government representative Senator Marc Gold on Wednesday. The legislation will pass first through the Senate and then to the House, where changes will be proposed to the Criminal Code, the Sex Offenders Registration Act and the International Transfer of Offenders Act.
This piece of legislation also includes proposals to give survivors more options for how their cases are handled, building on recommendations from the House Justice Committee.
According to the government, these proposed changes include:
Judges require prosecutors to ask whether they have sought input from a victim on whether or not to impose a publication ban and related modernizations of the publication ban regime; and Require judges to ask victims to receive post-conviction information about their cases, have their wishes recorded in court records, and facilitate that information exchange through federal corrections agencies.
“Sexual crimes are among the most horrific and degrading forms of violence. They have devastating consequences for survivors, who are disproportionately women and girls,” Justice Minister David Lametti said at Parliament Hill’s introduction of this bill on Wednesday. “Police must have the tools they need to investigate and bring sex offenders to justice.”
Marci Ien, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Youth, appeared alongside Lametti and spoke about what the Liberals see in the changes to the publication ban of Bill S-12 for “centering the needs” and voting of sexual assault survivors.
“In the context of sexual assault, this means that in most cases it is a criminal offense to publish, broadcast or transmit information that could identify the victim or witness in the case, even if the survivors consent to it,” One said. “You don’t have to have a law degree to understand… that the ban is indeed meant to protect victims and those around them. But in reality, it can sometimes do just the opposite. The legislation proposed today… will ensure that survivors have a say… It gives them the control to tell their own stories and do so in their own words.”
The justice minister said he hopes all parties will be on their side to see this “important legislation” pass quickly through both chambers due to the deadline imposed by the court. “Canadians expect us to work together quickly to maintain the national sex offender registry,” he said.
