Generally speaking, news of Canada’s most notorious killer Paul Bernardo being transferred outside of Lennox and Addington would be good riddance.
The further he gets from here, the better.
And so when his re-location from Bath’s Millhaven Institution to Quebec’s La Macaza made headlines, admittedly there was a sense of ‘he’s their problem now’. Upon further reflection however, Bath might be a more appropriate locale.
At the very least, the family of his victims, and quite frankly all Canadians, deserve to know the reasoning behind the move. Millhaven is known for being home of some of Canada’s worse offenders, even more so following the 2013 closure of Kingston Penitentiary, which once housed Bernardo. La Macaza is a medium security facility-still far from a beachside resort, but presumably allows for more freedoms and privileges for its inmates. It’s also not a stretch to reason moving from maximum to medium security represents a step closer to parole. That’s not to suggest Bernardo will be a free man anytime soon. Bernardo being released completely from custody remains a long shot, though we all know his partner in crime Karla Homolka has been free since 2005, serving 12 years behind bars. Bernardo on the other hand has been in custody since 1993. Now 58-years-old, Bernardo has spent more of his life incarcerated than he has on the ‘other side’.
Correctional Services Canada (CSC) has cited Bernardo’s privacy as the reason they remain tight-lipped about the transfer. Indeed it’s unlikely they would have ever informed the public about the move at all had the media not shone the spotlight. Was it a cost-cutting measure? Was it a matter of Bernardo demonstrating good enough behaviour to warrant the move? Was it for Bernardo’s health or safety? Absent any explanation from the CSC, Canadians can only speculate.
As far as we’re concerned, Bernardo forfeited any right to privacy surrounding his living conditions and location following his conviction. There is after all no doubt as to his whether or not he committed the crimes for which he was charged. Sure there’s some debate as to who did what in terms of Bernardo and Homolka, but at the end of the day they are responsible for three lives being tragically and brutally being cut short.
The families of two of Bernardo’s victims, Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, are on record as saying the news of his transfer was ‘devastating’ to them. ‘The Scarborough Rapist’ is known to have raped at least 14 other women between 1986 and 1993-the news of his transfer could very well bring back past traumas to them as well.
Bernardo’s transfer has caused enough of an uproar that the CSC has said it will review the process. Whether that leads to his return to Millhaven is unknown.
If nothing else, we hope this whole process will lead to more transparency within Canada’s legal system and ultimately more thought put into the effects something like this can have on the victim’s families. They’ve suffered enough.
-Adam Prudhomme