MPP wants child abusers on Ontario's sex registry

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Tanya Talaga

Child abusers should be added to the provincial sex offender registry, says a Progressive Conservative MPP who is calling for sweeping child protection and safety reforms.

A private member's bill, introduced yesterday by Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton), calls for mandatory reporting of abuse committed against a student to the child's parents, the school board and the police.

The bill, called the Children's Bill of Safety and Protection Rights Act, also aims to prohibit advertising that contains sexualized images of children under 16.

"Children have a right to be protected," MacLeod told a news conference yesterday.

"As a mother who happens to be a legislator, through this bill I intend to send a message to those who prey on vulnerable children, who target them in their advertising and who hurt innocent kids – your time is up."

MacLeod wants to expand the sex offender registry to include a public child abuse registry and to strengthen the provincial offences act so child abusers will not be able to contact their victims. She'd also like to see the registry made available to the public and not just police.

Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci said yesterday the rules governing the sex offender registry had just been tightened, and he isn't ready to expand them again to include people who assault children.

"Aggravated assault at this point in time is not being considered for the sex offender registry," Bartolucci said.

- With files from The Canadian Press