Ontario Proposes New Legislation for Community Safety

The Ontario government has introduced the Safer Streets, Stronger Communities Act, which aims to enhance public safety through several measures. The proposed legislation includes provisions to support safety near supervised consumption sites, address auto theft, and improve monitoring of sex offenders.

Key elements of the proposed act include:

• Prohibiting supervised consumption sites within 200 meters of schools and child-care centers.
• Requiring municipal approval for new supervised consumption sites.
• Introducing penalties for vehicle identification number fraud and careless driving.
• Enhancing tools for police to monitor sex offenders and prevent name changes for those with active reporting requirements.
• Removing the limitation period for lawsuits under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.
• Prohibiting advertising of illegal cannabis sales.

The government is also exploring improvements in the collection of bail statistics as part of ongoing calls for Criminal Code reform. These measures are part of Ontario's broader efforts to strengthen community safety and justice access across the province.