Notorious child killer Paul Bernardo transferred to Quebec institution
- Thread starter spaminator
- Start date
Well…
After already having everything stolen from them, the Canadian justice system has added to the pain by attempting to go after the families of Paul Bernardo’s victim’s money, too.
Outrageously slapping court cost charges on the victim’s families is a new low for a government still reeling from word the serial killer was moved to a medium security prison.
Earlier on Tuesday, in the Senate on Parliament Hill, Plett revealed a shocking set of details in which the parents of French and Mahaffy were not only fought in seeking information to prepare for Bernardo’s bail hearing but were also hit with a huge levy.
“In 2021, the Trudeau government fought the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy in court, to prevent them from obtaining information from the Parole Board and Correctional Service Canada to prepare for the parole hearing of Paul Bernardo, who tortured and killed their daughters,” said Plett, who is the Conservative’s senate leader.
WARMINGTON: Justice officials charging Bernardo victims for court costs 'shameful' — Toronto Sun
After already having everything stolen from them, the Canadian justice system has added to the pain by attempting to go after the families of Paul Bernardo’s victim’s money, too. Outrageously slapping court cost charges on the victim’s families is a new low for a government still reeling from...
“The Trudeau government argued in favour of protecting Paul Bernardo’s privacy rights – and won the case,” said Plett. “Then – to its everlasting shame – the Trudeau government asked the court for these families to pay the government’s legal costs of $19,142.27. The judge later reduced it to $4,000.”
Prisons head said process to notify minister of Bernardo transfer was followed: Email
The public safety minister and his staff have been under heavy scrutiny over the past month
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Published Jul 04, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
OTTAWA — As confusion reigned about who was informed that notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo was being transferred to a medium-security prison, the head of Canada’s federal prison system wrote to Public Safety Canada officials insisting the appropriate notification protocols had been followed.
Emails released to The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act appear to show Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner Anne Kelly was not clear on how or why Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino had not been informed before Bernardo was moved out of maximum security.
The public safety minister and his staff have been under heavy scrutiny over the past month as more details have emerged about the timeline of the prison transfer. The Conservatives have demanded that Mendicino resign over it.
The emails show Kelly herself wrote on May 26 to Public Safety Canada’s deputy minister Shawn Tupper and associate deputy minister Tricia Geddes.
“I had said I would confirm the transfer with you. It will occur next week,” Kelly wrote in an email with “High Profile Offender” in the subject line.
She told them the federal Public Safety Department, Mendicino’s office, the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister’s Office “have been advised” and that “we have media lines ready.”
Tupper replied just minutes later to thank Kelly for the confirmation.
Bernardo is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, torture and murders of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont. He was also convicted of manslaughter in the December 1990 death of 15-year-old Tammy Homolka, the younger sister of his then-wife, Karla Homolka. Bernardo also ultimately admitted to sexually assaulting 14 other women.
Karla Homolka pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was released in 2005 after completing a 12-year sentence for her role in the crimes committed against French and Mahaffy.
Bernardo spent nearly three decades in maximum security — first at Kingston Penitentiary and then Millhaven Institution near Kingston, Ont. He was transferred to medium-security La Macaza Institution, about 190 kilometres northwest of Montreal, on May 29.
The reasons for the transfer have not been made public, with the correctional service citing privacy issues.
But when news of the move went public on June 2, Mendicino took to social media to share his outrage. Mendicino, a former federal prosecutor, described the transfer as an “independent decision” made by the correctional service. He called it “shocking and incomprehensible.”
He said he planned to raise “the transfer decision process” with Kelly and expected the correctional service to “take a victim-centred and trauma-informed approach” in such cases.
The documents show Kelly wrote directly to Mendicino on the afternoon of Sunday, June 4.
“Hello minister, saw your tweet,” Kelly wrote. “I remain available to meet with you.”
Mendicino responded within 10 minutes: “Yes, we’ll co-ordinate a call.”
In a brief statement, Mendicino’s spokesman said his office made Kelly’s agency aware of the minister’s tweet before it was posted.
“CSC was informed of the minister’s statement through appropriate channels, before it was issued,” wrote Alexander Cohen.
The next day, Mendicino told reporters that he had spoken with Kelly and told her that he was “profoundly concerned and … shocked by this decision.” The correctional service then said the decision to reclassify and transfer Bernardo, which was made according to a legislated set of criteria, was under review.
Two weeks later, the correctional service said it had first told Mendicino’s office about the possibility of a transfer in early March and then again in late May after a date for the move had been set. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed on May 29, the day the transfer took place, while Mendicino has said he found out the next day.
A spokeswoman for Mendicino’s office has confirmed it was first asked about Bernardo’s possible transfer by a staffer in Trudeau’s office, who learned of the matter from the Privy Council Office, the secretariat that supports and advises the federal cabinet.
The newly released documents show Kelly wrote back to Tupper and Geddes on June 6 to check whether Mendicino’s office had been advised of Bernardo’s transfer, as she was being asked the same question by the clerk of the Privy Council.
“I understand from my staff that someone at (the Public Safety Department) said (the minister) had not been notified,” she wrote in an email with the subject line “PRIVATE — Transfer.”
“We have a notification process in place as you know and we certainly followed it.”
In a statement Tuesday, CSC repeated that Mendicino’s office had been notified about the transfer. The agency also said the Privy Council Office asked whether the minister’s office was notified, and it provided confirmation.
Mendicino has acknowledged his staff made a mistake in not informing him, but denied it was done to intentionally keep him in the dark.
The minister has not divulged how he went uninformed, but has announced plans to issue a directive saying the public safety minister is to be told of such transfers directly.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Mendicino should issue a similar directive to ensure people convicted of multiple murders, like Bernardo, must serve out their entire sentence in maximum-security prison.
The Liberal government has insisted it needs to be careful not to interfere with the independence of the correctional service — a position with which criminal justice experts and other lawyers agree.
The Correctional Service of Canada said it’s still reviewing theBernardo’s transfer and will inform the public of the results “at the earliest opportunity,” spokesman Kevin Antonucci wrote in an emailed statement.
“While the additional review is being prioritized in a timely way, it is also important that this is done in a thorough and complete manner to help provide Canadians with answers to the questions they have.”
Tim Danson, a lawyer representing the French and Mahaffy families, has said they want the decision reversed, adding it happened around the anniversary of Leslie Mahaffy’s kidnapping and death.
Mendicino’s office said Public Safety Canada would also provide a statement Tuesday about the newly released documents.
torontosun.com
The public safety minister and his staff have been under heavy scrutiny over the past month
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Published Jul 04, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
OTTAWA — As confusion reigned about who was informed that notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo was being transferred to a medium-security prison, the head of Canada’s federal prison system wrote to Public Safety Canada officials insisting the appropriate notification protocols had been followed.
Emails released to The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act appear to show Correctional Service of Canada Commissioner Anne Kelly was not clear on how or why Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino had not been informed before Bernardo was moved out of maximum security.
The public safety minister and his staff have been under heavy scrutiny over the past month as more details have emerged about the timeline of the prison transfer. The Conservatives have demanded that Mendicino resign over it.
The emails show Kelly herself wrote on May 26 to Public Safety Canada’s deputy minister Shawn Tupper and associate deputy minister Tricia Geddes.
“I had said I would confirm the transfer with you. It will occur next week,” Kelly wrote in an email with “High Profile Offender” in the subject line.
She told them the federal Public Safety Department, Mendicino’s office, the Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister’s Office “have been advised” and that “we have media lines ready.”
Tupper replied just minutes later to thank Kelly for the confirmation.
Bernardo is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, torture and murders of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont. He was also convicted of manslaughter in the December 1990 death of 15-year-old Tammy Homolka, the younger sister of his then-wife, Karla Homolka. Bernardo also ultimately admitted to sexually assaulting 14 other women.
Karla Homolka pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was released in 2005 after completing a 12-year sentence for her role in the crimes committed against French and Mahaffy.
Bernardo spent nearly three decades in maximum security — first at Kingston Penitentiary and then Millhaven Institution near Kingston, Ont. He was transferred to medium-security La Macaza Institution, about 190 kilometres northwest of Montreal, on May 29.
The reasons for the transfer have not been made public, with the correctional service citing privacy issues.
But when news of the move went public on June 2, Mendicino took to social media to share his outrage. Mendicino, a former federal prosecutor, described the transfer as an “independent decision” made by the correctional service. He called it “shocking and incomprehensible.”
He said he planned to raise “the transfer decision process” with Kelly and expected the correctional service to “take a victim-centred and trauma-informed approach” in such cases.
The documents show Kelly wrote directly to Mendicino on the afternoon of Sunday, June 4.
“Hello minister, saw your tweet,” Kelly wrote. “I remain available to meet with you.”
Mendicino responded within 10 minutes: “Yes, we’ll co-ordinate a call.”
In a brief statement, Mendicino’s spokesman said his office made Kelly’s agency aware of the minister’s tweet before it was posted.
“CSC was informed of the minister’s statement through appropriate channels, before it was issued,” wrote Alexander Cohen.
The next day, Mendicino told reporters that he had spoken with Kelly and told her that he was “profoundly concerned and … shocked by this decision.” The correctional service then said the decision to reclassify and transfer Bernardo, which was made according to a legislated set of criteria, was under review.
Two weeks later, the correctional service said it had first told Mendicino’s office about the possibility of a transfer in early March and then again in late May after a date for the move had been set. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed on May 29, the day the transfer took place, while Mendicino has said he found out the next day.
A spokeswoman for Mendicino’s office has confirmed it was first asked about Bernardo’s possible transfer by a staffer in Trudeau’s office, who learned of the matter from the Privy Council Office, the secretariat that supports and advises the federal cabinet.
The newly released documents show Kelly wrote back to Tupper and Geddes on June 6 to check whether Mendicino’s office had been advised of Bernardo’s transfer, as she was being asked the same question by the clerk of the Privy Council.
“I understand from my staff that someone at (the Public Safety Department) said (the minister) had not been notified,” she wrote in an email with the subject line “PRIVATE — Transfer.”
“We have a notification process in place as you know and we certainly followed it.”
In a statement Tuesday, CSC repeated that Mendicino’s office had been notified about the transfer. The agency also said the Privy Council Office asked whether the minister’s office was notified, and it provided confirmation.
Mendicino has acknowledged his staff made a mistake in not informing him, but denied it was done to intentionally keep him in the dark.
The minister has not divulged how he went uninformed, but has announced plans to issue a directive saying the public safety minister is to be told of such transfers directly.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Mendicino should issue a similar directive to ensure people convicted of multiple murders, like Bernardo, must serve out their entire sentence in maximum-security prison.
The Liberal government has insisted it needs to be careful not to interfere with the independence of the correctional service — a position with which criminal justice experts and other lawyers agree.
The Correctional Service of Canada said it’s still reviewing theBernardo’s transfer and will inform the public of the results “at the earliest opportunity,” spokesman Kevin Antonucci wrote in an emailed statement.
“While the additional review is being prioritized in a timely way, it is also important that this is done in a thorough and complete manner to help provide Canadians with answers to the questions they have.”
Tim Danson, a lawyer representing the French and Mahaffy families, has said they want the decision reversed, adding it happened around the anniversary of Leslie Mahaffy’s kidnapping and death.
Mendicino’s office said Public Safety Canada would also provide a statement Tuesday about the newly released documents.
Prisons head said process to notify minister of Bernardo transfer was followed: Email
The back-and-forth emails leading up to and after Canadians learned of the transfer were released through the Access to Information Act.
Prison head has doubts about Mendicino on Bernardo transfer
Either Mendicino knew or the department in charge of prison, the border and stopping terrorism is incompetent.
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jul 04, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
Even the head of Canada’s federal prison system appears to have doubts about Marco Mendicino being kept in the dark about Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium security facility.
Documents released to the Canadian Press wire service show that there were definitely attempts to make sure the minister knew.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has been under fire since the news broke that Canada’s most notorious serial killer was transferred from a maximum to medium security prison. The transfer happened in May, the news became public in June but both Mendicino and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said they didn’t know despite senior staff having been informed in March.
Anne Kelly, Commissioner of Corrections Canada, even followed up with Shawn Tupper, the deputy minister of Public Safety Canada, and Tricia Geddes, the assistant deputy minister. Kelly emailed them both days before the transfer.
“I had said I would confirm the transfer with you. It will occur next week,” Kelly wrote on May 26 in an email with “High Profile Offender” in the subject line.
Tupper wrote back minutes later to thank Kelly for the update.
One of the lines the Trudeau Liberals have been using in defence of Mendicino not being briefed that Bernardo’s transfer was happening is that his young staff didn’t know who Bernardo was. The claim has never made sense — now we know that this information was communicated with words like “High Profile Offender” in the subject line.
We also know that neither Tupper nor Geddes are young twentysomethings fresh out of university and working their first jobs. Tupper has been a senior civil servant, at director level or above, since 2000 while Geddes has been in senior positions for a decade.
Does it seem likely that experienced civil servants would know about the transfer of a high-profile serial killer like Bernardo for months, have it confirmed days before it happens and yet never raise it with the minister? Not in any functioning office.
Kelly, who has faced calls for her to be fired over her handling of this transfer, is shown to have clearly followed protocol. After news of the transfer became public, Mendicino blasted the decision on social media and in response to journalists.
“The Correctional Service of Canada’s independent decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium security institution is shocking and incomprehensible,” Mendicino said in a statement.
“Hello minister, saw your tweet,” Kelly wrote. “I remain available to meet with you.”
“Yes, we’ll co-ordinate a call,” was the minister’s reply within minutes.
Days later, on July 6, Kelly sent a follow-up email to Tupper and Geddes with the subject line “PRIVATE – Transfer.” She was hearing that the minister had not been notified and the Privy Council Office was asking questions of her agency.
“I understand from my staff that someone at (the Public Safety Department) said (the minister) had not been notified,” Kelly wrote.
“We have a notification process in place as you know and we certainly followed it.”
Somebody didn’t follow protocol and inform the minister, or we are being asked to believe a lie with the claim that he was never told.
It seems highly unlikely that his deputy minister and assistant deputy minister knew, that his political staff knew, that they all knew months ahead of time and only informed the minister as the transfer was happening. Either someone is lying and Mendicino knew, or the government wants us to believe that the department charged with running prisons, overseeing the border and defending Canada against terrorist attacks is utterly incompetent.
Neither option looks good on the government.
Mendicino has caused enough problems for this government — mishandling of the convoy, the firearms legislation and foreign interference — that in previous governments he would have been fired by now.
Instead, wait for him to be quietly shuffled off to a less-dangerous portfolio sometime over the sleepy summer months.
— With files from The Canadian Press
blilley@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
Either Mendicino knew or the department in charge of prison, the border and stopping terrorism is incompetent.
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jul 04, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
Even the head of Canada’s federal prison system appears to have doubts about Marco Mendicino being kept in the dark about Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium security facility.
Documents released to the Canadian Press wire service show that there were definitely attempts to make sure the minister knew.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has been under fire since the news broke that Canada’s most notorious serial killer was transferred from a maximum to medium security prison. The transfer happened in May, the news became public in June but both Mendicino and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have said they didn’t know despite senior staff having been informed in March.
Anne Kelly, Commissioner of Corrections Canada, even followed up with Shawn Tupper, the deputy minister of Public Safety Canada, and Tricia Geddes, the assistant deputy minister. Kelly emailed them both days before the transfer.
“I had said I would confirm the transfer with you. It will occur next week,” Kelly wrote on May 26 in an email with “High Profile Offender” in the subject line.
Tupper wrote back minutes later to thank Kelly for the update.
One of the lines the Trudeau Liberals have been using in defence of Mendicino not being briefed that Bernardo’s transfer was happening is that his young staff didn’t know who Bernardo was. The claim has never made sense — now we know that this information was communicated with words like “High Profile Offender” in the subject line.
We also know that neither Tupper nor Geddes are young twentysomethings fresh out of university and working their first jobs. Tupper has been a senior civil servant, at director level or above, since 2000 while Geddes has been in senior positions for a decade.
Does it seem likely that experienced civil servants would know about the transfer of a high-profile serial killer like Bernardo for months, have it confirmed days before it happens and yet never raise it with the minister? Not in any functioning office.
Kelly, who has faced calls for her to be fired over her handling of this transfer, is shown to have clearly followed protocol. After news of the transfer became public, Mendicino blasted the decision on social media and in response to journalists.
“The Correctional Service of Canada’s independent decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium security institution is shocking and incomprehensible,” Mendicino said in a statement.
“Hello minister, saw your tweet,” Kelly wrote. “I remain available to meet with you.”
“Yes, we’ll co-ordinate a call,” was the minister’s reply within minutes.
Days later, on July 6, Kelly sent a follow-up email to Tupper and Geddes with the subject line “PRIVATE – Transfer.” She was hearing that the minister had not been notified and the Privy Council Office was asking questions of her agency.
“I understand from my staff that someone at (the Public Safety Department) said (the minister) had not been notified,” Kelly wrote.
“We have a notification process in place as you know and we certainly followed it.”
Somebody didn’t follow protocol and inform the minister, or we are being asked to believe a lie with the claim that he was never told.
It seems highly unlikely that his deputy minister and assistant deputy minister knew, that his political staff knew, that they all knew months ahead of time and only informed the minister as the transfer was happening. Either someone is lying and Mendicino knew, or the government wants us to believe that the department charged with running prisons, overseeing the border and defending Canada against terrorist attacks is utterly incompetent.
Neither option looks good on the government.
Mendicino has caused enough problems for this government — mishandling of the convoy, the firearms legislation and foreign interference — that in previous governments he would have been fired by now.
Instead, wait for him to be quietly shuffled off to a less-dangerous portfolio sometime over the sleepy summer months.
— With files from The Canadian Press
blilley@postmedia.com
LILLEY: Prison head has doubts about Mendicino on Bernardo transfer
More doubt cast on claim the minister never knew about Paul Bernardo going to a medium security prison.
Mr. Mendicino, the Public Safety Minister, can’t get off the hot seat because he won’t explain why he didn’t know that notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo was being moved to medium-security prison until May 30, after it was a fait accompli.
It is mid-July now, but there are a couple of cabinet ministers who have owed us explanations for months.
Both Bill Blair and Marco Mendicino haven’t adequately answered a question about why they didn’t know something important. Government officials tried to tell them, and somehow, neither was told.
But now the bigger issue is that there are no explanations.
apple.news
Mr. Mendicino, let’s recall, expressed his surprise at the transfer and said he’d issued a directive requiring the Correctional Service of Canada to notify him of such things.
After that, we learned that Mr. Mendicino’s office received a heads-up that Mr. Bernardo might be moved months before it happened. And that Correctional Service Commissioner Anne Kelly told senior officials on May 26 that the minister’s office had been advised.
This week, a spokesperson for the Public Safety Department told a reporter that the deputy minister didn’t tell Mr. Mendicino because Ms. Kelly, “as part of her normal practice” had already told his office.
Yet somehow, we don’t know how all those notifications never made it from the minister’s staff to his ears. We are owed a better explanation than a shrug that someone messed up.
In the traditions of Westminster government, it’s not supposed to matter how staff in Mr. Mendicino’s office messed up, or who did it, because the minister is responsible – and in theory, it is the minister’s head that is on the block. But the notion of ministerial responsibility is starting to look defunct.
Maybe, in its place, we can just expect a simple explanation. Without one, Mr. Mendicino’s credibility has taken a beating, and so has the Liberal government’s.
It’s a recurring habit with ministers that makes Mr. Trudeau’s government look its age.
Mr. Blair, the Emergency Preparedness Minister, has been at the centre at another unexplained tale of a minister kept in the dark. It’s a tale from Mr. Blair’s days as public safety minister, told by former governor-general David Johnston in his report as special rapporteur on foreign interference in May, and batted back in forth in parliamentary hearing. And still, there is a hole in the middle where answers should be.
On Tuesday, he still wasn’t filling in the blanks. Anyway….link…above…etc…
It is mid-July now, but there are a couple of cabinet ministers who have owed us explanations for months.
Both Bill Blair and Marco Mendicino haven’t adequately answered a question about why they didn’t know something important. Government officials tried to tell them, and somehow, neither was told.
But now the bigger issue is that there are no explanations.
The ministers who can’t explain why they weren’t told — The Globe and Mail
Few things make the Liberal government seem more stale than ministers’ inability to provide simple explanations
Mr. Mendicino, let’s recall, expressed his surprise at the transfer and said he’d issued a directive requiring the Correctional Service of Canada to notify him of such things.
After that, we learned that Mr. Mendicino’s office received a heads-up that Mr. Bernardo might be moved months before it happened. And that Correctional Service Commissioner Anne Kelly told senior officials on May 26 that the minister’s office had been advised.
This week, a spokesperson for the Public Safety Department told a reporter that the deputy minister didn’t tell Mr. Mendicino because Ms. Kelly, “as part of her normal practice” had already told his office.
Yet somehow, we don’t know how all those notifications never made it from the minister’s staff to his ears. We are owed a better explanation than a shrug that someone messed up.
In the traditions of Westminster government, it’s not supposed to matter how staff in Mr. Mendicino’s office messed up, or who did it, because the minister is responsible – and in theory, it is the minister’s head that is on the block. But the notion of ministerial responsibility is starting to look defunct.
Maybe, in its place, we can just expect a simple explanation. Without one, Mr. Mendicino’s credibility has taken a beating, and so has the Liberal government’s.
It’s a recurring habit with ministers that makes Mr. Trudeau’s government look its age.
Mr. Blair, the Emergency Preparedness Minister, has been at the centre at another unexplained tale of a minister kept in the dark. It’s a tale from Mr. Blair’s days as public safety minister, told by former governor-general David Johnston in his report as special rapporteur on foreign interference in May, and batted back in forth in parliamentary hearing. And still, there is a hole in the middle where answers should be.
On Tuesday, he still wasn’t filling in the blanks. Anyway….link…above…etc…
I haven't been keeping up on this, but is the bastard back where he belongs yet? Or are they just ignoring it as usual and they are waiting for the heat to die down?
Actually, where he belongs is not going to happen, but that's Canadian justice.
Actually, where he belongs is not going to happen, but that's Canadian justice.
Deputy minister had no reason to think Mendicino unaware of Bernardo move
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jul 10, 2023 • 1 minute read
OTTAWA — The federal Public Safety Department is defending a decision by its top officials not to contact the minister directly about the transfer of notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has for weeks been dealing with the fallout from the Correctional Service of Canada’s decision to move Bernardo in late May from a maximum-security prison in Ontario to an institution in Quebec known for offering treatment programs for sex offenders.
The prison service later confirmed it first notified the minister’s office at least three months before Bernardo was moved, and again in the days leading up to his transfer, but Mendicino said he was unaware until after it happened.
Emails obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show Anne Kelly, the federal corrections commissioner, also told the deputy and associate deputy minister of public safety three days ahead of time.
Asked why neither of the senior officials raised the matter directly with Mendicino, a spokesman for the department says “neither deputy had reason to believe the minister was not aware based on the information they had.”
Tim Warmington says Kelly had informed the minister’s office and that it is outside of “normal practice” for department leaders to be involved in the correctional service’s operational decisions.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jul 10, 2023 • 1 minute read
OTTAWA — The federal Public Safety Department is defending a decision by its top officials not to contact the minister directly about the transfer of notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has for weeks been dealing with the fallout from the Correctional Service of Canada’s decision to move Bernardo in late May from a maximum-security prison in Ontario to an institution in Quebec known for offering treatment programs for sex offenders.
The prison service later confirmed it first notified the minister’s office at least three months before Bernardo was moved, and again in the days leading up to his transfer, but Mendicino said he was unaware until after it happened.
Emails obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show Anne Kelly, the federal corrections commissioner, also told the deputy and associate deputy minister of public safety three days ahead of time.
Asked why neither of the senior officials raised the matter directly with Mendicino, a spokesman for the department says “neither deputy had reason to believe the minister was not aware based on the information they had.”
Tim Warmington says Kelly had informed the minister’s office and that it is outside of “normal practice” for department leaders to be involved in the correctional service’s operational decisions.
Deputy minister had no reason to think Mendicino unaware of Bernardo move
The Public Safety Department is defending a decision not to contact the minister about the transfer of notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo
awesome idea
wanna be Prime Minister?
job's open
(just don't appoint any judges, m'kay?)
:?P
Listen, I'm a fucking ign'ant Yank, and even I know the PM's residence is at 24 Sussex, not on the Hill.
The Hill's nice. They have cool crows and those MASSIVE black squirrels.
Good eatin'.
I eat crow all the time. When I fuck up, I 'fess up. Like a man.
Paul Bernardo prison transfer needed to be kept 'low profile,' officials said — Global News
Emails obtained by Global News through an access to information request show communications officials discussing the need to keep news of Bernardo's transfer a 'close hold.'
A close hold that nobody knew about.???????????
Paul Bernardo prison transfer needed to be kept 'low profile,' officials said — Global News
Emails obtained by Global News through an access to information request show communications officials discussing the need to keep news of Bernardo's transfer a 'close hold.'
Why all the lies though? To what end?
apple.news
What other scandal is the current government trying to drown out with the noise from this one? It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.
GOLDSTEIN: Doublethink logic behind Bernardo’s prison transfer — Toronto Sun
Correctional Service of Canada has a dismal record when it comes to its general disregard for the families of all murder victims
Bernardo to stay in medium-security prison after controversial transfer
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jul 20, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
OTTAWA — The commissioner of Correctional Service Canada said Thursday that serial killer Paul Bernardo will remain in the Quebec medium-security prison he was transferred to earlier this year.
Anne Kelly said a review of the controversial decision to move him out of the maximum-security Millhaven Institution west of Kingston, Ont., concluded it was “sound and followed all applicable laws and policies.”
“The news that this inmate had been transferred from a maximum to a medium-security institution upset many Canadians and I know that many are looking for answers,” Kelly said in Ottawa.
She said she made the “exceptional” move to authorized the release of personal information.
“I believe it is in the public interest to have a better understanding of the reasons why this specific decision was made.”
Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, assault and murders of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.
The 85-page review released Thursday shows Bernardo’s security classification was reviewed 14 times between 1999 and 2022, and each time he met the criteria to be moved to a medium-security institution.
It says these results had previously been “overridden” because his high-profile status placed him at a greater safety risk, and most of his interactions with other offenders in maximum-security prison were extremely restricted and controlled.
The review says Bernardo applied to be moved to the medium-security Bath Institution in June 2022, but a security review that found he met the bar for transfer was “overridden” because of his failure to integrate with other inmates.
Bernardo then worked with senior officials at Millhaven to develop an integration plan, the review says, and was “fully integrated” within that prison by July 2022.
He then successfully applied to be moved to the La Macaza Institution in Quebec. That facility offers treatment for sex offenders.
From last July until the transfer in May, “there were no documented incidents or behavioural concerns” reported by staff, the review says.
“Staff at Millhaven Institution reiterated that the ongoing impediment to the offender’s reclassification to medium was his failure to integrate; thus, upon, integration, there were no longer grounds to warrant a maximum security classification.”
The review found that the correctional service followed applicable laws and policies when it came to victim notification, Kelly said.
But it noted that notifying victims’ families the day of Bernardo’s transfer created “surprise and shock.”
The review committee said it “recognized that news of the transfer, including the nature of notification, caused emotional distress for victims.”
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who has faced calls from the Conservatives to resign over his handling of the issue, had said Correctional Service Canada owed Canadians an explanation given the severity of Bernardo’s crimes.
Mendicino had also said he would issue a directive instructing the federal correctional service to ensure the public safety minister is formally and directly notified in advance of the transfer of high-profile or dangerous offenders.
Mendicino has said that he was not been briefed about the transfer until the day after it happened, despite his staff being notified in the months before.
Kelly noted the atmosphere created by Bernardo’s transfer, but reiterated that the Canadian correctional system is fundamentally based on the rehabilitation of offenders.
“Hearing about this case so intensely over the past several weeks has brought up strong emotions and rightly so,” she said at a news conference.
“Crimes that continue to have an immeasurable impact on the victims and their families. We want justice to be served. … We want Canadians to have confidence in our decisions.”
Speaking to reporters at an unrelated event in Kingston, Ont., on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sidestepped direct questions about whether he remains confident in Mendicino, saying only that an MP’s presence in cabinet signals that he has confidence in them.
Trudeau said the concerns of the families of Bernardo’s victims are top of mind for his government, adding the upcoming report from the correctional service would highlight the “thinking and processes” behind his controversial transfer.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jul 20, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
OTTAWA — The commissioner of Correctional Service Canada said Thursday that serial killer Paul Bernardo will remain in the Quebec medium-security prison he was transferred to earlier this year.
Anne Kelly said a review of the controversial decision to move him out of the maximum-security Millhaven Institution west of Kingston, Ont., concluded it was “sound and followed all applicable laws and policies.”
“The news that this inmate had been transferred from a maximum to a medium-security institution upset many Canadians and I know that many are looking for answers,” Kelly said in Ottawa.
She said she made the “exceptional” move to authorized the release of personal information.
“I believe it is in the public interest to have a better understanding of the reasons why this specific decision was made.”
Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life sentence for the kidnapping, assault and murders of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.
The 85-page review released Thursday shows Bernardo’s security classification was reviewed 14 times between 1999 and 2022, and each time he met the criteria to be moved to a medium-security institution.
It says these results had previously been “overridden” because his high-profile status placed him at a greater safety risk, and most of his interactions with other offenders in maximum-security prison were extremely restricted and controlled.
The review says Bernardo applied to be moved to the medium-security Bath Institution in June 2022, but a security review that found he met the bar for transfer was “overridden” because of his failure to integrate with other inmates.
Bernardo then worked with senior officials at Millhaven to develop an integration plan, the review says, and was “fully integrated” within that prison by July 2022.
He then successfully applied to be moved to the La Macaza Institution in Quebec. That facility offers treatment for sex offenders.
From last July until the transfer in May, “there were no documented incidents or behavioural concerns” reported by staff, the review says.
“Staff at Millhaven Institution reiterated that the ongoing impediment to the offender’s reclassification to medium was his failure to integrate; thus, upon, integration, there were no longer grounds to warrant a maximum security classification.”
The review found that the correctional service followed applicable laws and policies when it came to victim notification, Kelly said.
But it noted that notifying victims’ families the day of Bernardo’s transfer created “surprise and shock.”
The review committee said it “recognized that news of the transfer, including the nature of notification, caused emotional distress for victims.”
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who has faced calls from the Conservatives to resign over his handling of the issue, had said Correctional Service Canada owed Canadians an explanation given the severity of Bernardo’s crimes.
Mendicino had also said he would issue a directive instructing the federal correctional service to ensure the public safety minister is formally and directly notified in advance of the transfer of high-profile or dangerous offenders.
Mendicino has said that he was not been briefed about the transfer until the day after it happened, despite his staff being notified in the months before.
Kelly noted the atmosphere created by Bernardo’s transfer, but reiterated that the Canadian correctional system is fundamentally based on the rehabilitation of offenders.
“Hearing about this case so intensely over the past several weeks has brought up strong emotions and rightly so,” she said at a news conference.
“Crimes that continue to have an immeasurable impact on the victims and their families. We want justice to be served. … We want Canadians to have confidence in our decisions.”
Speaking to reporters at an unrelated event in Kingston, Ont., on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sidestepped direct questions about whether he remains confident in Mendicino, saying only that an MP’s presence in cabinet signals that he has confidence in them.
Trudeau said the concerns of the families of Bernardo’s victims are top of mind for his government, adding the upcoming report from the correctional service would highlight the “thinking and processes” behind his controversial transfer.
Bernardo to stay in medium-security prison after controversial transfer
The Correctional Service of Canada will reveal results into decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison.