Canadian Criminal Sentencing/Ancillary Orders/SOIRA Orders

SOIRA Orders
Section 490.012 grants judges the power to order an offender to comply with the SOIRA:

Designated offences
The Order is generally to be granted for "designated offences" listed under section 490.011 (1), including:

The offences in the left column are designated offences under s.490.011(1)(a) that are eligible for a SOIRA Order under s. 490.012(1). The offences in the right column are designated offences under s.490.011(1)(b) that are eligible for a SOIRA Order under s. 490.012(2), if the crown can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the offence was committed for the intent to commit an offence under s.490.011(1)(a).

Sex Offender Registration Act establishes a database accessible to police that contains addresses, descriptions, and other information regarding sex offenders. The offender is obligated to keep the information on file up to date for the period ordered. This will either be 10 years, 20 years, or life. Failure to comply with the order is a criminal offence.

Prior to April 15, 2011 Amendments
In April 15, 2011, the phrasing of s.490.012 was amended to make SOIRA mandatory for all section (a), (c), (c.1), (d) or (e) designated offences. Prior to this amendment these designated offences presumptively required a SOIRA order unless outweighed by other interests. As such, there is no longer the weighing of proportional interests.

The previous scheme allowed the following:

The court may exempt an offender from registration under the SOIRA if the court is satisfied that the impact of the obligations would be "grossly disproportionate to the public interest in protecting society though the effective investigation of crimes of a sexual nature". The Court must give reasons for the decision to grant or deny the order under the SOIRA.

The requirements can be summarized as follows:
 * 1) What is the impact on the individual offender,
 * 2) What is the public interest served by registration, and
 * 3) Is the impact upon the defendant grossly disproportionate to the public interest having regard to:
 * 4) the nature of the offence,
 * 5) the nature of the intrusion, and
 * 6) the circumstances of the individual offender.

From "a public interest point of view it is desirable that the registry not be so inclusive as to include so many low risk or no risk offenders as to dilute the resources and attention of the police from those that pose a genuine risk."

Duration
Under Section 490.13, the length of the SOIRA order is based on the election and maximum penalty.

An order must be made for a minimum of life where:
 * the offender was convicted or found NCR for more than one designated offence (490.013 (2.1))
 * the offender was/is subject to an obligation under s. 490.019 or 490.02901 of the Code, or 227.06 of the National Defence Act or 36.1 of the International Transfer of Offenders Act (490.013 (3))
 * the offender was previously given a SOIRA order in the past (490.013 (4))