CANADA: Supreme Court considers if mandatory listing on sex registry is constitutional

The country’s top court has been asked to consider striking down two sections of Canada’s sex offender laws as unconstitutional.

In 2011, the Stephen Harper government altered the Criminal Code so the names of sex offenders would automatically be placed on the sex offender registry.

The changes meant judges no longer had discretion on whether to submit names of sex offenders to the registry. It also mandated that anyone convicted of two sex offences or more would automatically be placed on the registry for life.

On Tuesday morning, appearing virtually in the Supreme Court, Edmonton defence lawyer Elvis Iginla asked the justices to replace mandatory placement with judicial discretion.

“In my view, the mandatory registration for all sex offenders upon conviction of two or more offences, without regard to the seriousness of the offences or the offender’s propensity to reoffend, is overbroad,” Moen wrote.

The case advanced to the Alberta Court of Appeal, where there was a split decision. Two of three judges ruled automatically adding the names of sex offenders to a national registry for life does not violate the offender’s charter rights.

The third justice dissented, ultimately leading to Tuesday’s hearing before the Supreme Court of Canada.

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