PMO staff were told about possible Paul Bernardo transfer in March ...

Darren Major · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 14, 2023 7:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Staff in the Prime Minister's Office were told in March that serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo could be transferred from a maximum to a medium-security prison.

PMO spokesperson Alison Murphy told CBC that a staff member was alerted by the Privy Council Office to a possible transfer and subsequently contacted Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino's office.

"That was the right step to take given the Public Safety Minister's responsibility for the Correctional Service of Canada," Murphy said in a media statement.

Murphy also said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was informed of the transfer on May 29. Mendicino's office has said the minister was briefed on May 30, the day after it happened. The news was first reported by the Globe and Mail.

The families of Bernardo's victims say they are outraged by Correctional Service Canada's (CSC) decision to move him to the medium-security prison in La Macaza, Que. They also maintain they didn't receive adequate notice of the transfer from CSC.

Poilievre calls on Mendicino to step down

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Mendicino to step down after CBC reported that his office was first alerted to a possible transfer months before it occurred.

Poilievre also criticized Trudeau for not acting when his office was notified.

"Instead of acting, the Prime Minister did nothing and left it in the hands of his most useless minister. This is a failure of leadership at the very top," Poilievre said in a statement.

WATCH | Poilievre calls on public safety minister to resign: 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for the resignation of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino after his office was told serial killer Paul Bernardo was moved from maximum to medium-security prison — three months before the transfer happened.

Mendicino rejected Poilievre's calls to step aside.

He told MPs during question period in the House of Commons Wednesday that he will instead use his authority as minister to change how CSC communicates its decisions on transferring high-profile prisoners.

The Toronto-area minister said that, moving forward, the federal prison bureau must "ensure victims' rights are guiding the decision-making process" when a prisoner is up for a possible reclassification.

This new directive is meant to close a policy gap that some advocates say leaves victims' families clueless about a perpetrator's whereabouts.

Reporting high-profile transfers

A source in the minister's office defended their actions in a call with CBC News.

They said Bernardo's history was known to younger staffers — Bernardo was convicted in 1995 — and there was no communications breakdown. They said sometimes the minister isn't made aware of every development.

WATCH | Poilievre, Mendicino get into heated exchange in question period: 

During an intense exchange in question period, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre asked Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino about what he knew of Paul Bernardo's transfer to a medium security prison. Poilievre has called on the minister to resign.

"There's a lot of information flow every day within our agencies and we take decisions on when to best brief the minister," the source said.

Mendicino said that to avoid a repeat of this incident, he will soon issue a ministerial directive requiring that CSC report all high-profile transfers directly to the minister and victims' families ahead of time.

As it stands, the correctional service must only notify families in advance if an inmate is being transferred to a minimum security institution.