A woman who killed her two children in Alberta is expected to be sent back to her native Australia on Monday.
Allyson McConnell has served her sentence for manslaughter in a psychiatric hospital, where she will remain until she is deported.
The decision was made Friday at an immigration detention review hearing.
McConnell was eligible for early release Thursday after serving two-thirds of a 15-month sentence.
Alberta Justice officials had been trying to keep McConnell in the province pending the outcome of the Crown’s appeal of her sentence and manslaughter conviction.
But federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Ottawa could not step in.
“As Ms. McConnell is the subject of a valid removal order and would otherwise be free of any sentence or restriction in Canada, CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) will be required by law to proceed with the presently scheduled removal,” he said in a statement.
McConnell was originally charged with second-degree murder but convicted of manslaughter after court heard that she was severely depressed and suicidal when she killed her two young boys.
She drowned two-year-old Connor and 10-month-old Jayden in the bathtub at their home in Millet, south of Edmonton. She then drove to the city and jumped off a freeway overpass, but survived.
McConnell’s former husband and the boys’ father, Curtis McConnell, has been issuing statements to the media this week, saying he feared his ex-wife would never be heard from again if she flew back to Australia.
He also said his family has been “kept in the dark” about McConnell’s release and the deportation process.
McConnell was originally sentenced to six years in custody, but received credit for time already served.
If the Crown’s appeal is successful, the province of Alberta intends to seek McConnell’s extradition from Australia.
With a report from CTV Edmonton’s Bill Fortier
