Canada’s premiers were mulling over their joint communique last week, when B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma made an impassioned pitch to go further, and do more, on the issue of repeat sex offenders.

Sharma was filling in for Premier David Eby at the meeting, and outlined the province’s disgust over notorious child predator Randall Hopley’s statutory release despite being deemed a high risk to reoffend, and another repeat offender arrested while on probation for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a washroom.

The premiers were mostly versed on larger bail reform issues, but Sharma began pulling out statistics and proposals to tighten the rules around sex offences as well. “This is my day job,” she told them.

In the end, the premiers added “reviewing risk assessment for sentencing and release of repeat sex offenders and individuals charged with intimate partner violence and gender-based violence crimes” to their joint communique and list of demands to Prime Minister Mark Carney on public safety.

“No system is perfect but when we see these cases come through the question is, what risk assessment was done for this repeat offender who was released again and then didn’t abide by the rules,” Sharma said in an interview. “Obviously, there’s a........

© BIV