Ministry of Justice
Sex Offender Registry
On December 15, 2004 the Government of Canada proclaimed the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and made changes to the Criminal Code – Sex Offender Registry (sections 490.11 to 490.032). In cooperation with the provinces and territories, the national sex offender registration program was subsequently implemented to enable police to have rapid access to information about convicted sex offenders. The legislation compels offenders who are convicted of designated sex offences to register specified information about themselves with the police for 10 or 20 years, or for life, depending on the offence.
The cornerstone of the legislation is the National Sex Offender Database that is maintained by the RCMP. The database may be searched by police across the country. Police can query the system using specific criteria (i.e., by geographical area) and produce data showing registered sex offenders whose victim profiles match those of an offence or who are residing in the area where an offence took place.
The database is only accessible to police agencies and is only used to investigate crimes of a sexual nature. The legislation prohibits public access to the information in the database and the information cannot be used for the purposes of public notification. Additional information about the National Sex Offender Registry is posted on the RCMP website.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The federal government is currently considering amendments to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act. Updated information will be posted on this website.
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