According to internal government documents obtained by Maclean's magazine under the Access to Information Act, Canada's sex offender registry is crippled by one major problem: Ottawa's obsession with privacy. The feds are so determined to protect the rights of convicted sex offenders that most police officers are not allowed to access the system. Forget the general public. "I'm not sure that public access is the answer, but I'm bloody sure this isn't the answer," says Paul Gillespie, former head of the Toronto police child exploitation unit and president and CEO of KINSA (the Kids' Internet Safety Alliance). "This is a national embarrassment."

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"A national embarrassment"
Canada's sex offender registry is so flawed that hundreds of molesters and other criminals have gone missing
by Michael Friscolanti
Maclean's
January 14, 2008