The appellant was convicted of two counts of sexual assault arising from a single incident and was subjected to mandatory lifetime registration under SOIRA pursuant to ss. 490.012 and 490.013(2.1) of the Criminal Code, despite a judicial finding that he was unlikely to reoffend.
The majority held both provisions overbroad under s. 7 of the Charter, as mandatory registration captures offenders not at increased recidivism risk and lifetime registration applies even where multiple offences arose from a single transaction without an intervening conviction.
The Crown failed to justify the provisions under s. 1, as neither minimally impairing alternatives nor evidence of salutary effects were demonstrated.
The declaration for s. 490.012 was suspended one year and applied prospectively, while the declaration for s. 490.013(2.1) was immediate and retroactive.
Four judges dissented in part, finding s. 490.012 constitutional given the heightened recidivism risk of all convicted sex offenders and the history of judicial misuse of discretion.
