Ontario’s populist premier Doug Ford has announced that his government will introduce new restrictions on people convicted of sex offenses in response to the Supreme Court decision striking down mandatory minimum sentences for possession of child pornography. Ford said, “Throw them in jail. Throw away the key. They can rot in there… They’re a bunch of ‘diddlers’. I can’t stand them. They make me sick.” Ford’s proposal would also make the sex offense registry public, as it is in the U.S., but not currently in Canada. Although their defenders in the U.S. claim registries are only for management of this population rather than punishment, Ford’s response makes it clear that his intent is punitive. Critics say they are ineffective in protecting children, since most child molestation comes from other children or from adults who are trusted relatives or friends of the family, not strangers.
Ford’s proposal makes once-progressive Ontario more like Alabama, where a bill has been pre-filed for the 2026 session of the legislature authorizing parole officers to bar those on the sex offense registry from using cell phones or any other electronic communications. Since such devices are already surveilled by parole authorities to detect any misuse, the intent is clearly punitive, making it impossible for offenders to search for and apply to jobs, or to seek healthy relationships with other adults, preventing successful re-integration. The US Supreme Court ruled in Packingham v. North Carolina (2016) that blanket bans on individuals convicted of a sex offense using social media or the internet violate the First Amendment, but the decision may leave the door open to selective enforcement of such restrictions by a hostile parole officer.
