OTTAWA – Federal corrections commissioner has completed her review of Correctional Service Canada's inmate transfer policy, and an update on the rules based on those findings is coming soon, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Tuesday.
The review of the policy stems from the political controversy that erupted over the transfer of Terri-Lynne McClintic from prison to an Indigenous healing lodge in Saskatchewan. McClintic was convicted of first-degree murder in the kidnapping, rape and murder of eight-year-old Tori Stafford in 2009, and the Conservatives were highly critical of her transfer and called on Goodale to reverse the decision.
When the issue arose this fall, Goodale said the decision was being reviewed to make sure that the law and longstanding policies of the federal government were properly applied in this situation.
Testifying before a House of Commons Committee, Goodale said he received a copy of commissioner Anne Kelly's report after she completed it late last week.
"I have that report under very careful consideration now, and I expect to be in a position very, very soon, to offer a response to the findings and the advice I have received from the commissioner, and as soon as I am in a position to do that… I will make my comments public," Goodale said.
CTV News had initially reported that the update on the federal approach to inmate transfers would be made Tuesday, but a spokesperson for the minister has since said that is no longer the case.
Given privacy considerations, Goodale is not expected to speak directly to the McClintic case.
With files from CTV News' Don Martin and Michel Boyer
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