Nearly 14,000 registered sex offenders in Ontario could soon be wearing GPS tracking devices if Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak has his way.

There is currently no way for the police to track the movements of “these predators” in the province, Hudak said Monday.

But if the Tories are elected Oct. 6, Hudak vowed to make sure global positioning systems are placed on all registered sex offenders so authorities can track where they are.

“When (a) child is at the playground or at school or the neighbours I want to know everything possible is being done to keep them safe,” Hudak said. “Families know that having 14,000 people on Ontario’s sexual offender registry and living in our communities is a significant reason for concern.”

The cost of the GPS monitoring program would be about $50 million but provincial Solicitor General Jim Bradley said in order to use effective technology the price tag would actually be “quadruple” that.

Hudak said sex offenders on the registry would be required to wear the GPS 24 hours a day. The devices are normally worn on the ankle.

Three Canadian provinces use this technology along with 40 American states.

However, Bradley said the technology isn’t where it should be yet. He added the issue hasn’t been a priority in his meetings with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.

“What you don’t want is the police spending all their time chasing electronic impulses if they are inaccurate,” said Bradley.

New Democratic Party MPP Michael Prue (Beaches-East York) didn’t dismiss the use of GPS outright.

“I’m not going to just completely dismiss the idea put forward today because I think it needs some study,” he said. “Everybody believes children should be protected.”

This is Hudak’s latest tough-on-crime pledge leading up to the Oct. 6 election. He also wants to make the sex offender registry public and put provincial inmates on chain gangs. The inmates would pick up garbage along highways, cut grass and clean graffiti.

Hudak accuses Premier Dalton McGuinty of being silent on crime. “I guess McGuinty thinks it is more important to protect the privacy of registered sex offenders than to protect the rights of hard-working families,” Hudak said.

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But Bradley said the Tories aren’t “thinking things through” carefully as to what works and what doesn’t. He pointed out some Ontario prisons house dangerous convicts and Hudak’s chain gang plan could endanger the public.

“They just grab onto an idea that sounds great at first glance … but they aren’t very practical or effective,” said Bradley.