The Ford government says it will be launching a public provincial website about high-risk offenders, including “high-risk sex offenders when a chief of police issues a community notification.”
Solicitor General Michael Kerzner made the announcement on Monday, as part of the proposed legislation, Protecting Ontario’s Streets and Communities Act, 2026.
The website is one of several measures under the bill’s ‘Protecting Victims and Vulnerable People’ pillar. It would authorize the Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner to publish information about high-risk offenders on a provincial public website.
Under the current Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 (CSPA), the Chiefs of Police are authorized to disclose information about high-risk offenders through community notifications, which is then shared through individual police websites or social media.
“The government is proposing to amend the CSPA to authorize the OPP Commissioner to publish information on a provincial public website about high-risk offenders (incl. high-risk sex offenders) made subject to community notifications issued by a Chief of Police for the protection of the public,” the provincial document reveals.
If the legislation is passed, the new website is expected to be online by April 2027.
“Our government remains laser-focused on protecting Ontario’s streets and keeping communities safe,” Kerzner said in a release. “This legislation builds on the decisive action we’ve already taken to strengthen public safety by giving law enforcement stronger tools to crack down on illegal activity, protect victims and vulnerable people, and hold offenders accountable.”
The proposed legislation also looks to provide up to $50,000 in debt relief for victims of human trafficking, which is part of the ‘Protecting Victims and Vulnerable People’ pillar.
“Survivors of human trafficking often face ongoing financial harm as a result of debts they were coerced or forced to incur by traffickers for the traffickers’ financial gain. These debts, which survivors did not freely or knowingly assume, can persist long after exploitation has ended, creating barriers to financial stability and recover,” the document states.
Other measures in the legislation include the use of automated licence‑plate recognition cameras on major provincial highways to combat organized retail theft, as well as strengthening oversight of the towing industry while seeking regulatory changes to the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, 2021 (TSSEA).