Bill 130 2008

An Act to amend various Acts related to the safety and protection of children

Note: This Act amends or repeals more than one Act.  For the legislative history of these Acts, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Preamble

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in the United Nations General Assembly.  Canada ratified the Convention in 1991, and all provinces have adopted it.

In accordance with Article 19 of the Convention, it is important that the Province of Ontario enshrine in law basic, measurable rights to protect children from all forms of violence, abuse, injury, neglect, negligent treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000

   1.  (1)  The short title of Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000 is repealed and the following substituted:

Christopher's Law (Sex Offender and Child Abuse Registries)

   (2)  The Act is amended by adding the following heading immediately before section 2:

Sex Offender Registry

   (3)  The Act is amended by adding the following sections:

Child Abuse Registry

Child abuse registry

   11.1  (1)  The ministry shall establish and maintain a child abuse registry containing the information received under subsection (2) of persons who have been convicted of any of the following offences or who are serving a sentence for such a conviction, where the victim of the offence was under 16 years of age at the time of the offence:

    1.  An offence under section 151 (sexual interference), 152 (invitation to sexual touching), subsection 153 (1) (sexual exploitation), 155 (1) (incest), 160 (1), (2) or (3) (bestiality), 163.1 (2), (3) or (4) (child pornography), section 170 (parent or guardian procuring sexual activity), subsection 173 (2) (exposure), section 271 (sexual assault), subsection 272 (1) (sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm) or section 273 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Criminal Code (Canada).

    2.  An offence under subsection 79 (2) (child abuse), 79 (3) (leaving child unattended) or 79 (5) (allowing child to loiter) of the Child and Family Services Act.

Information submitted to ministry

   (2)  If a person is convicted of an offence listed in subsection (1) or is serving a sentence for such a conviction, the court making the conviction shall forward the following information to the ministry, where the victim of the offence was under 16 years of age at the time of the offence:

    1.  The person's name.

    2.  The offence.

    3.  The date and place of conviction.

    4.  The sentence imposed for each offence.

    5.  The sentence start and end dates.

Information recorded

   (3)  Upon receiving the information forwarded by the court in accordance with subsection (2), the ministry shall record the information in the child abuse registry and send a copy of the information to the person at his or her last known address.

Available to public

   (4)  The Minister shall make the child abuse registry available to the public, in a manner that he or she considers appropriate.

Definition

   (5)  In this section,

"Minister" means the member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration of this Act is assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act.

Person may correct information

   11.2  If a person convicted of an offence listed in subsection 11.1 (1) believes that any information about him or her in the child abuse registry is incorrect, he or she shall provide the ministry with the correct information, and if the ministry is satisfied that the information provided by the person is correct, it shall correct the child abuse registry accordingly.

Proof of pardon

   11.3  Section 9 applies with necessary modifications to a person convicted of an offence listed in subsection 11.1 (1) and, for the purpose, references to a sex offence shall be read as references to a child abuse offence listed in subsection 11.1 (1).

   (4)  The Act is amended by adding the following heading immediately before section 12:

General

Consumer Protection Act, 2002

   2.  (1)  The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 is amended by adding the following section:

Advertising: children

   13.2  (1)  No person shall make use of advertising that,

  (a)  contains images of a sexual nature of a person who is or appears to be 16 years of age or under; or

  (b)  is directed at persons 16 years of age or under and contains clothing, images or other material that encourages sexual activity or creates sexual awareness.

Criteria of intent

   (2)  To determine whether or not an advertisement is directed at persons 16 years of age or under in the manner described in clause (1) (b), account must be taken of the context of its presentation and, in particular, of,

  (a)  the nature and intended purpose of the good advertised; and

  (b)  the manner of presenting the advertisement.

   (2)  Subclause 116 (1) (b) (i) of the Act is amended by striking out "subsections 13 (2) and (7) and subsections 13.1 (1) and (2)" at the end and substituting "subsections 13 (2) and (7), subsections 13.1 (1) and (2) and subsection 13.2 (1)".

Education Act

   3.  (1)  The Education Act is amended by adding the following section:

Children's Day

   1.1  (1)  November 20 in each year shall be known as Children's Day in schools.

Same

   (2)  The Legislative Assembly of Ontario shall also recognize Children's Day.

Same

   (3)  Children's Day shall be a day of awareness of children's rights and of the prevention of violence and abuse against children.

   (2)  Section 301 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Same, reporting of violent incidents

   (6.0.1)  The Minister shall establish a policy requiring principals, teachers and all other board employees who become aware of an incident of violence or abuse committed against a pupil on school premises to report the incident to the following persons or bodies:

    1.  The parents or guardians of the pupil.

    2.  The board that has jurisdiction over the school.

    3.  The police force that has jurisdiction in the area where the school is located.

    4.  Where the pupil is under the care or supervision of a children's aid society or receives child protection services from a children's aid society, that children's aid society.

   (3)  Section 302 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Same, prohibiting corporal punishment

   (2.1)  Every board shall prohibit the use of corporal punishment on pupils.

Ombudsman Act

   4.  The Ombudsman Act is amended by adding the following section:

Additional functions of Ombudsman

   14.1  (1)  Anything that the Ombudsman may do under this Act in respect of a governmental organization, the Ombudsman may do in respect of,

  (a)  a society as defined in subsection 3 (1) of the Child and Family Services Act;

  (b)  a board as defined in subsection 1 (1) of the Education Act; and

   (c)  a hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act.

Same

   (2)  If the Ombudsman does or proposes to do anything in respect of a body listed under subsection (1), any reference in this Act to a governmental organization is deemed to be a reference to the body.

Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Act, 2007

   5.  (1)  Section 15 of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Act, 2007 is amended by adding the following clauses:

(b.1) provide advocacy to children who are pupils of schools under the Education Act;

(b.2) provide advocacy to children who are receiving services at a hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act;

   (2)  Clause 16 (1) (f) of the Act is amended by striking out "or" at the end of subclause (ii) and by adding the following subclauses:

      (ii.1)  provided to children under the Education Act,

      (ii.2)  provided to children under the Public Hospitals Act, or

   (3)  Subsection 21 (2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Contents

   (2)  The report mentioned in subsection (1) shall contain whatever information the Advocate considers appropriate, but shall contain, at a minimum, a report on,

  (a)  the activities and finances of the Advocate's office;

  (b)  the outcomes expected in the fiscal year of the Government of Ontario in which the report is made;

   (c)  the results achieved in the previous fiscal year; and

  (d)  the implementation in the previous fiscal year by the Government of Ontario of the principles expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Provincial Offences Act

   6.  (1)  Subsection 150 (1) of the Provincial Offences Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Person in custody to be brought before justice

   (1)  Where a defendant is not released from custody under section 149, the officer in charge shall, as soon as is practicable but in any event within 24 hours, bring the defendant before a justice and the justice shall, unless a plea of guilty is taken, order that the defendant be released upon giving his or her undertaking to appear unless the prosecutor having been given an opportunity to do so,

  (a)  shows cause why the detention of the defendant, other than a defendant referred to in clause (b), is justified to ensure his or her appearance in court or why an order under subsection (2) is justified for the same purpose; or

  (b)  in the case of a defendant who is charged with an offence under subsection 79 (2) (child abuse), 79 (3) (leaving child unattended) or 79 (5) (allowing child to loiter) of the Child and Family Services Act, shows cause,

           (i)  why the detention of the defendant is justified on one or more of the following grounds:

                 (A)  to ensure the defendant's appearance in court,

                 (B)  for the protection or safety of the public, including any victim of or witness to the offence, having regard to all the circumstances, including any substantial likelihood that the defendant will, if released from custody, commit an offence or interfere with the administration of justice,

                 (C)  to maintain confidence in the administration of justice, having regard to all the circumstances, including the apparent strength of the prosecution's case, the gravity of the offence, and the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence, or 

          (ii) why an order under subsection (2) is justified.

   (2)  Subsection 150 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "or" at the end of clause (b), by adding "or" at the end of clause (c) and by adding the following clause:

  (d)  if the defendant is charged with an offence under subsection 79 (2) (child abuse), 79 (3) (leaving child unattended) or 79 (5) (allowing child to loiter) of the Child and Family Services Act, conditional upon the defendant abstaining from communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order, or refraining from going to any place specified in the order, except in accordance with the conditions specified in the order that the justice considers necessary.

   (3)  Subsection 150 (4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Order for detention

   (4)  Where the prosecutor shows cause why the detention of the defendant in custody is justified to ensure his or her appearance in court or for any other reason listed in subsection (1), the justice shall order the defendant to be detained in custody until he or she is dealt with according to law.

Commencement and Short Title

Commencement

   7.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   8.  The short title of this Act is the Children's Safety and Protection Rights Act, 2008.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends various Acts in relation to children.

Currently, Christopher's Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000 requires individuals convicted of certain sexual offences to register with the police.  The Bill amends the Act to provide for a child abuse registry, which will be available to the public.  The child abuse registry will contain information about persons who have committed sexual and other violent offences against children.  The title of the Act is changed to Christopher's Law (Sex Offender and Child Abuse Registries).

The Bill amends the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 to prohibit advertising that contains images of a sexual nature of a person who is or appears to be 16 years of age or under.  The Act is also amended to prohibit advertising that is directed at persons 16 years of age or under and that contains clothing, images or other material that encourages sexual activity or creates sexual awareness.

The Bill amends the Education Act to establish November 20 in each year as Children's Day in schools and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.  The Act is amended to require principals, teachers and all other board employees to report incidents of violence or abuse committed against a student to the student's parents, the school board, the police and, where the child is receiving services from a children's aid society, the society.  The Act is also amended to prohibit the use of corporal punishment on students.

The Bill amends the Ombudsman Act to allow the Ombudsman to investigate any decision or recommendation made or any act done or omitted in the course of the administration of a children's aid society, a school board or a hospital.

The Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Act, 2007 is amended to allow the Advocate to provide advocacy to students in schools and to children in hospitals.  The Act is also amended to require the Advocate to report annually to the Legislative Assembly on the implementation by Ontario of the principles expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The provisions related to a "show cause" hearing in section 150 of the Provincial Offences Act are amended in respect of defendants charged with child abuse offences under the Child and Family Services Act.  In these types of cases, detention in custody may be justified to ensure the defendant's appearance in court, to protect the public's safety, or to maintain confidence in the administration of justice.  Also in these types of cases, an order for release may be conditional upon the defendant abstaining from communicating with any victim, witness or other person identified in the order.