The transfer of rapist and murderer Paul Bernardo to prison has caused discontent in Ottawa. Justin Trudeau says his government has been trying to better understand Correctional Service Canada (CSC), which will conduct a “review” of the controversial decision.
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“I fully understand the shock and dismay of so many Canadians at the announcement of this news,” he said at a news conference on Monday.
Mr. Bernardo was transferred without explanation from a maximum-security prison near Kingston, Ontario to the medium-security La Macaza Institution in the Laurentians.
The criminal, along with his partner Karla Homolka, had raped, tortured and murdered three teenage girls in St. Catharines, Ontario in the early 1990s.
In a statement released Monday, the CSC said its commissioner, Anne Kelly, had ordered “a new review of this offender’s case.”
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“The purpose of the review is to ensure that, based on the evidence available, the correct level of safety has been achieved and, most importantly, that victims’ concerns have been adequately addressed.”
“These are horrific crimes and we regret any pain and concern the situation may have caused,” adds the CSC, which says it is “aware of the impact of its decisions on victims.”
Mr Trudeau assured that his Minister for Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, would “find clear answers and explain to Canadians what happened and what we will do about it”.
Minister Mendicino called the decision last Friday “shocking and incomprehensible”.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also protested the decision, which was taken without the knowledge of everyone, including the victims’ families, and called on the federal government to do everything in its power to “overturn this ridiculous and appalling decision”.
“Mr Bernardo is a monster and he should remain in maximum prison,” Mr Poilievre said on Monday.
Similarly, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday that Paul Bernardo deserved to “rot in prison for the rest of his miserable life.”
According to reports, several sex offenders and criminals are being held at La Macaza Asylum and are at risk of being harmed by other inmates.
However, the CSC wanted to note that medium-security facilities “have the same perimeter controls as maximum-security facilities,” which include “high fences, armed checkpoints, and armed law enforcement officers with appropriate security equipment.”
The case of each individual prisoner in these facilities is reassessed every two years, it said.