Ontario to activate Sex Offender Registry at midnight.

April 22, 2001

QUEEN'S PARK, TORONTO, April 22 /CNW/ - Ontario's new Sex Offender Registry -- the first of its kind in Canada -- comes into force at midnight tonight, providing police with vital information they need to protect the public, Solicitor General David Turnbull announced today.

"Ontario families want to know that their communities are safe and secure," Turnbull said. "With this mandatory registry, we're serving notice to sex offenders residing in Ontario. These individuals must register with local police, or, if convicted of not doing so, face jail time and heavy fines. It's the law."

The provincial Sex Offender Registry was sparked by the brutal murder of 11-year-old Christopher Stephenson at the hands of a convicted pedophile on federal statutory release. The legislation creating the provincial registry -- Christopher's Law -- was named in his memory.

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Source: Canada NewsWire