Sex offender registry ruling: Minister Shandro

Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro issued the following statement about repeat sex offenders no longer being automatically added to a national registry:

“The Supreme Court’s decision will make our country a more dangerous place. The decision to end automatic registration on the sex offender registry will make it harder to ensure that these crimes are not repeated.

“As the dissenting argument rightly points out, this decision was made using an exceptional case and ignores the ‘rampant misuse of judicial discretion prior to the amendment.’ Prior to automatic registration, the registry’s low inclusion rate undermined its effectiveness. The risk of reoffending is not clear at sentencing and therefore Parliament was right in casting a wide net.

“Automatic listing on the sex offender registry helped build a comprehensive database for law enforcement and acted as an important tool in helping monitor sexual offenders in our communities. Every Albertan deserves to feel safe from those who would cause them harm.

“This decision will have an outsized impact on women, who are overwhelmingly the victims of sex crimes. We are calling on the House of Commons to reconvene immediately and invoke the notwithstanding clause to restore automatic registration to the sex offender registry.”