When Stephen Harper's government introduced Bill C-27 to protect Canadians from dangerous offenders, opponents raised a resounding critical roar. Granted, major changes to existing law merit major debate. But regrettably, many criticisms are more myth than fact.

Briefly: in keeping with the Supreme Court decision in R. vs. Johnson (2003), high-risk offenders who pose an ongoing threat to society and who are unlikely candidates for rehabilitation within the community may be designated as dangerous offenders. They must have received sentences of two years or more for each of three violent or sexual offences. They receive indefinite (lifetime) sentences, with a minimum of seven years before their first parole hearing.

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