TORONTO – Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government is looking at making some information on the sex offender registry public, in the wake of a controversial Supreme Court of Canada decision on child pornography sentences.
Ford says parents want to know if a sex offender is living next door or down the street, and he says making that public is a “no brainer.”
A government proposal to consult on possible legislative, regulatory or operational changes to the registry raises the possibility of making “certain” information public, but it does not provide any specific options.
The government document says the recent Supreme Court decision “weakens vital protections for children” so the province wants to advance its own measures to protect families.
The top court recently ruled that one-year mandatory minimum jail sentences for accessing or possessing child pornography violate the Charter of Rights.
Ontario’s sex offender registry is known as Christopher’s Law, named for 11-year-old Christopher Stephenson, who was killed in 1988 by a convicted sex offender.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2025.
