As I read the legislation, it actually says that the database only contains information that a police service has already released. So if the Ottawa Police Service released information about so-and-so, then that person would be eligible to go on the federal database or website. If the local police didn't do that, then he or she would not be on the database.
It's really only information that a police service has already made public. There is nothing new or revolutionary about this. You're really just taking a couple of different websites or a couple of different situations and bringing them all together. Will that enhance anyone's public safety? I don't know how it would.
That's where I would think the government would look to Alberta and Manitoba and ask a few questions: “You guys have had your websites for a couple of years. What has the impact been? Has there been a reduction in these types of offenders reoffending? What's the impact on these types of people registering with the national sex offender registry?”
Those would be the questions I would want to ask before saying that it will be good or bad.