Conservatives say the Liberal government should heed the call of communities and return serial killer Paul Bernardo to a maximum security prison.
Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli said in an Aug. 4 statement that the local communities most affected are “speaking out and calling for action.”
Mr. Baldinelli says the demands have been sent to the prime minister, the minister of public safety, and local MPs, “but they have fallen on deaf ears as the government continues to refuse to exercise its power to require that mass murderers serve their full sentences in maximum security prisons.”
The city of St.Catharines passed a unanimous motion in late July calling for the federal government to make changes to its corrections and parole system and send Mr. Bernardo back to a maximum security prison. The motion was expected to be sent to federal authorities and local MPs.
Mr. Bernardo is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole after kidnapping, torturing, and murdering Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, as well as the sexual assault and manslaughter of his 15-year-old sister-in-law Tammy Homolka in the 1990s. On May 29, he was transferred to a medium-security prison, meaning he can spend less time in his cell and associate with other inmates.
Correctional Service Canada conducted a review of the transfer amid the ensuing outcry, and said on July 20 the decision was “sound.”
Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino was criticized for his handling of the file after it was revealed his office was notified of Mr. Bernardo’s transfer three months in advance, after previously calling the transfer “shocking and incomprehensible.” Mr. Mendicino was shuffled out of the Liberal cabinet on July 26 and was replaced with Dominic Leblanc.
Mr. Baldinelli introduced Bill C-342 in mid-June, a private member’s bill that seeks to require that all court-ordered dangerous offenders and mass murderers be permanently assigned a maximum-security classification.
