Sex offender registry expanded: more agencies can access data, new reporting duties added, disclosure rules broadened

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

The Sex Offender Information Registration Act has been updated to extend access to the registry beyond police services to include 'other law enforcement agencies,' including the Canada Border Services Agency, which now has explicit authority to consult the database and share travel information about registered sex offenders. Offenders must now also report changes to their registered vehicles (plate number, make, model, colour, etc.) within seven days, and the annual re-reporting window has shifted to a fixed 30-day period before each anniversary of the original reporting date rather than an 11-to-12-month window. The definition of recorded physical characteristics is expanded to include tattoos and distinguishing marks, and the word 'gender' is replaced with 'sex' throughout. New disclosure permissions allow registry information to be shared with victims or witnesses of sexual crimes, with other government departments and Indigenous governing bodies, and with law enforcement outside Canada, in all cases where there are reasonable grounds to believe it will assist prevention or investigation. A good-faith defence is added so that a person who genuinely believed they were acting within the permitted disclosure rules cannot be convicted of an offence under the Act.

Who this affects: registered sex offenders · police services and law enforcement agencies · Canada Border Services Agency personnel · victims and witnesses of sexual crimes · government departments and Indigenous governing bodies receiving disclosures