By Canadian Press

Poilievre calls on Liberals to make killers like Bernardo stay in max-security prison

Jun 6, 2023 | 9:09 AM

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should see to it that mass murderers serve their entire sentences in maximum-security prison. 

The call comes as Trudeau’s government deals with the fallout from a Correctional Service of Canada decision to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security institution in Quebec. 

Anne Kelly, commissioner of the federal correctional service, announced the move was under review after Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said he expressed to her how shocked Canadians were by the decision.

Bernardo is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, torture and murders of 15-year-old Kristen French in 1991 and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in 1992. 

Mendicino said he is unable to reverse the decision himself because the federal correctional service operates as an independent institution. 

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Poilievre told reporters today that the minister’s response is inadequate, saying Trudeau should direct him to ensure that killers with multiple victims are not moved out of maximum-security institutions. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2023.

The Canadian Press