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By Charles Lefebvre

House of Commons passes motion to examine Parole Board of Canada

Feb 7, 2020 | 3:07 PM

OTTAWA, ON. — The murder of a Quebec woman has prompted the federal government to take a closer look at the Parole Board of Canada.

Earlier this week, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion 315-0 brought forward by the Conservative Party to condemn the Parole Board of Canada’s decision to allow a convicted murderer to be on day parole, arguing the decision led to the woman’s death.

Marylene Levesque, 22, was found dead in a hotel room on January 22 in Quebec. Eustachio Gallese, 51, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with her death.

Gallese was previously convicted in connection with the 2004 death of his partner. Last year, the Parole Board of Canada granted Gallese day parole. In September, Gallese was deemed a “moderate” risk to reoffend, and was denied full patrol, but was allowed to stay on day parole.

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The incident has received attention in the House of Commons, with the Conservatives bringing up concerns about the Parole Board of Canada’s decision to grant Gallese day parole.

The release conditions also included a provision that Gallese was allowed to see women to meet his sexual needs while on parole. He was required to disclose his relationships with women to his parole officer.

Glen Motz (MP, Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner), who is also the Associate Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, says recent appointments to the Parole Board need to be examined.

“They’ve had multiple positions in the Parole Board that have been appointed in the last couple of years by the Liberal Party,” he said over the phone from Ottawa, “Are they qualified to do their job? We need to look at that, and we need to review some changes, and recommend any measures that the Public Safety Committee can to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”

As a result of the motion passing, the committee will be conducting hearings on the issue, though dates have not yet been scheduled.