Niagara survivors join Davies in push for public sex offender registry

A campaign for a public national sex offender registry gained fresh momentum this week when Niagara South MP Fred Davies brought survivors and advocates to Parliament Hill and pressed fellow MPs for criminal justice reforms.

The Ottawa roundtable put renewed pressure on federal lawmakers to tighten offender accountability rules and create a publicly accessible national sex offender registry, a proposal backed by a parliamentary petition sponsored by Davies that closed this month with 4,949 validated signatures.

Davies chaired the session Tuesday and heard testimony from members of Our Heart on Our Sleeve, a Niagara advocacy group formed after the sexual assault of a three-year-old girl known publicly as “Little E” last year in Welland.

The group argues that existing safeguards failed and that Canadians should have access to information about convicted sex offenders living in their communities.

Alicia Googoo of St. Catharines, who appeared before Fort Erie last October with Niagara advocate Steven Soos, told MPs the consequences of childhood sexual abuse can last a lifetime.

“Public safety, offender accountability, and victim protection are not abstract policy issues for me,” said Googoo.

Googoo described years of trauma, addiction and homelessness following childhood sexual abuse. She also spoke about the death of her sister, who struggled with addiction and homelessness before she was found dead in a homeless encampment in 2018.

The registry proposal emerged repeatedly during the roundtable.

Melissa Googoo argued the measure would give parents information they need to protect children and make informed decisions about potential risks in their neighbourhoods.

“This is about protection, awareness, and prevention. Parents have the right to know who may pose a risk near their children,” said Googoo.

Niagara Regional Police identified 48 human trafficking victims in 2024 across the region, up from six in 2023, and conducted 159 human trafficking investigations that year. Of the victims identified in 2024 and 2025, 19 were minors.

Davies told the group the “Little E” case struck a personal chord with him because the assault occurred on the same street where his grandparents lived.

“This was a gut punch for me when I learned where ‘Little E’ was assaulted,” said Davies. “I had just begun my parliamentary duties and could never have envisioned an issue like this, but I knew immediately that I would focus on serious changes to the Criminal Code.”

When Soos spoke at Fort Erie’s council meeting last year, he made the case that an accessible registry is a straightforward way to improve public safety.

“This is a public safety issue, nobody wants to live next to a sex offender,” he said last October.

This week’s discussion also attracted support from Liberal MP Judy Sgro and Conservative justice critic Larry Brock.

Brock called for national standards governing victim notification and stronger co-ordination between governments on victim services.

“There has to be a professional standard. Here’s an opportunity for the federal government to step up and lead the way,” said Brock.

Davies told participants the push for legislative change will continue in Parliament.

“This is only the start for your advocacy. This is just day one for change,” said Davies.

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