Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino speaks to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. 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. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2023.
