(OTTAWA) The decision to transfer serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo from a maximum-security penitentiary to a medium-security facility was “judicious” and consistent with applicable laws, Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) Commissioner Anne Kelly has concluded.
It is therefore indeed behind the bars of the establishment of La Macaza, in the Laurentians, that Paul Bernardo will continue to serve his life sentence for premeditated murder (two counts), kidnapping (two counts), serious sexual assault (two counts) and indignity towards a human corpse.
“It has been argued that [s’il] was incarcerated at La Macaza Institution, he would not have greater access to the community, as the perimeter of the institution is secure and controlled, and his movement and contact with other offenders would be regulated and monitored,” reads the 84-page report.
The review was carried out in the wake of the announcement of the transfer of the notorious criminal now aged 58.
At a press conference in Ottawa, Commissioner Anne Kelly said that the test results of “this inmate” – she named Paul Bernardo only once before qualifying him as such, out of respect for the relatives of his victims – corresponded to those of inmates incarcerated in medium security penitentiaries.
“One of the guiding principles of the law is to take the least custodial measures. To apply this principle, we take into account many factors, including the risk to the safety of staff and the public, the rights of victims, as well as safe, secure and humane treatment,” she said.
“And we have to find the perfect balance,” added Anne Kelly, saying “sorry for any pain” that this case may have rekindled among the relatives of the victims. And the CSC will ensure that Paul Bernardo, author of “heinous and inconceivable crimes”, is “maintained in incarceration in a secure establishment”.
The man has been in jail since 1993 for the kidnapping, torture and murders of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy, which took place in the early 1990s.
“I went to both penitentiaries. He [Bernardo] is in a cell. Perimeter security control, height of fences, armed patrols, it’s all the same. In both establishments, inmates can receive visitors [et] have access to educational programs”, she illustrated.
“We even asked if the detainees had different meals depending on the level of security. No. The menu is the same, whether you are at minimum, medium or maximum security, ”continued the commissioner, who has been with CSC for forty years.
A minister in the hot seat
The case got Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino into hot water. The Tories demanded his resignation, accusing him of lying when he said he learned of the transfer after it happened.
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino
According to information from CBC, the minister’s office was informed by CSC of the upcoming transfer on March 2, then on May 25, this time with a notice that the transfer was coming in four days. Marco Mendicino was only informed on May 30, the day after the transfer.
Three days later, on June 2, he reacted forcefully to the “shocking” and “incomprehensible” decision.
When the Commissioner was speaking to the media, the Department published a directive on its website aimed at preventing this type of situation from happening again. This provides that in the future, CSC will come into contact with victims before, and not after, any transfer of an offender to federal custody.
It will also now be necessary that “before transferring a notorious offender to a reduced security level, the CSC commissioner or his delegate officially and directly notifies the Minister of Public Security”, is it stated.
Repeatedly during the press conference, Commissioner Anne Kelly took refuge behind the new directive in response to questions about the mess, which could deprive Marco Mendicino of his minister’s car during a reshuffle which could take place next week.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was outraged not by the review’s findings, but by the liberal approach that he says guided the decision. “When I am prime minister, I will pass a law to keep all mass killers, like Paul Bernardo, in maximum security prisons,” he said.