Bill 163 explained in plain English
Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry) Amendment Act, 2011
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 163 amends Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry) to update definitions, expand reporting obligations to certain offenders convicted outside Canada, and allow for reporting periods to be set by regulation.
Bill 163, also known as the Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry) Amendment Act, 2011, makes changes to how the sex offender registry operates in Ontario. It clarifies what constitutes a "pardon" for the purposes of the registry, expands the types of offenders who are subject to reporting requirements, and allows for reporting periods to be set by regulation rather than by the Act itself. It also introduces new provisions for offenders convicted or found not criminally responsible outside of Canada who subsequently become subject to reporting obligations in Canada.
- Amends the definition of "pardon" in Christopher's Law to include free pardons and pardons or record suspensions under the Criminal Records Act (Canada).
- Expands the definition of "sex offence" to include offences for which a person is subject to reporting obligations under specific sections of the Criminal Code (Canada) and the International Transfer of Offenders Act (Canada).
- Changes reporting requirements by replacing specific timeframes within the Act with "prescribed periods" to be set by regulation.
- Introduces new reporting obligations for offenders convicted or found not criminally responsible outside of Canada who become subject to reporting requirements in Canada.
- Repeals subsection 9 (3) of the Act, which related to the deletion of records from the sex offender registry upon receiving a pardon, and replaces it with new provisions detailing when records must be deleted.
- Specifies that the Ministry must delete an offender's record if they receive a free pardon for every sex offence to which the Act applies, but not if they only receive a pardon or record suspension under the Criminal Records Act (Canada).
- Introduces transitional provisions for the application of the amended clauses.
- Individuals convicted of sex offences in Ontario.
- Individuals found not criminally responsible for sex offences in Ontario.
- Individuals who have received a pardon, record suspension, or free pardon.
- Individuals convicted of or found not criminally responsible for offences outside of Canada who become subject to reporting obligations in Canada under the Criminal Code (Canada) or the International Transfer of Offenders Act (Canada).
- The Ministry responsible for the sex offender registry.
- Offenders must report within a "prescribed period" (to be set by regulation) after various events, such as release from custody, conviction, or changes in address or name.
- Offenders convicted or found not criminally responsible outside Canada who become subject to reporting obligations in Canada are now also obligated to report under Christopher's Law.
- The Ministry is obligated to delete an offender's record from the sex offender registry if the offender receives a free pardon for every sex offence to which the Act applies.
- The Act received Royal Assent on May 4, 2011.
- The Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. (Section 8)
- The specific timeframes for reporting obligations are no longer defined in the Act but will be set by regulation, so these exact periods are not detailed in the bill text.
- The bill text does not specify which ministry is responsible for creating the regulations regarding prescribed reporting periods or for maintaining the sex offender registry, although it refers to "the ministry".
This bill amends Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000, by updating definitions, changing reporting requirements, and introducing new obligations for certain offenders.
Source: Bill 163, Section 1(1), 1(2), 2(1), 2(2), 3(1), 3(2), 4, 5, 6, 7
The bill amends Ontario's Christopher's Law to include obligations arising from section 490.02901 of the Criminal Code (Canada) related to sex offender registration.
Source: Bill 163, Section 1(2), 2(1)(e.1), 4(1.5)
The bill updates the definition of "pardon" in Christopher's Law to include pardons or record suspensions granted under the Criminal Records Act (Canada), and specifies how these affect record deletion from the sex offender registry.
Source: Bill 163, Section 1(1), 6
The bill amends Ontario's Christopher's Law to include obligations arising from section 36.1 of the International Transfer of Offenders Act (Canada) related to sex offender registration.
Source: Bill 163, Section 1(2), 2(1)(e.2), 4(1.6)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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