Trudeau’s staff also knew about Paul Bernardo prison transfer for months

More details are being revealed about what federal officials knew about serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo’s prison transfer, with the prime minister and his office now being pulled into the controversy.

A spokesperson for the prime minister’s office has revealed that Justin Trudeau was only told the convicted felon would be moved to a medium-security prison on the day it happened — despite his staff being notified months in advance.

There are now calls from the opposition for the public safety minister to resign, after news broke earlier this week that his office was also told three months ago about the impending transfer of Bernardo. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre believes Marco Mendicino should be held responsible and doesn’t believe his claims the he did not know of the transfer ahead of time.

“Will he do the only honourable thing that is left for him to do, and resign,” asked Poilievre during Question Period.

Prime Minister’s Office says PM a was informed of Bernardo transfer the day it happened, but a staff member from PMO a was alerted about the possibility of a transfer in March #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/4tYHG8Bna1

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) June 15, 2023

Mendicino expressed shock when news of the controversial transfer broke. Correctional services has since confirmed his office was informed of the pending transfer on March 2, and then notified again on May 25 that it would be happening four days later.

The public safety minister says his staff never told informed him and corrective measures have been taken in his office. He released a statement on Wednesday afternoon, saying he shared the “anger and disappointment” of the decision and outlined the directives he will be issuing to the Correctional Service of Canada “to ensure that they put victim’s rights at the centre of these decisions.”

The minister has not said if anyone on his team has been fired.

“As the minister said in question period, he should have been informed earlier and he has dealt with that,” Alison Murphy, a spokesperson for Trudeau, said in a statement.

Murphy said a staffer in Trudeau’s office was alerted by the Privy Council Office in March that the transfer was a possibility, and “inquiries and requests for information were immediately made to the public safety minister’s office.”

The statement did not explain why Trudeau was only briefed about the transfer on May 29.

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Related:

• Canadians want revenge on Paul Bernardo, but that’s not how prison works: ex-official

• ‘Nothing but a scumbag’: Ontario Premier Doug Ford comments on Bernardo move

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Bernardo is serving a life sentence for the murders, kidnapping and torture of 15-year-old French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s. He has admitted to sexually assaulting 14 other women and was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Tammy Homolka, who died after being drugged and sexually assaulted.

Tammy’s sister Karla Homolka, who was married to Bernardo at the time, was released in 2005 after completing a 12-year sentence for her role in the crimes committed against French and Mahaffy.

A lawyer representing the families of the two teenage girls have said it’s alarming that the minister and the victim’s families were kept in the dark for months. The correctional service has confirmed the families were only notified of the transfer the day it happened.

A three-person review committee at correctional services is now reviewing the decision to transfer Bernardo. The review is expected to take a number of weeks.

With files from The Canadian Press and CityNews Parliament Hill reporter Cormac Mac Sweeney