Trudeau knew about Bernardo transfer before Mendicino, Poilievre calls for minister to resign

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced Wednesday he'll be issuing a "ministerial directive" requiring Canada's corrections agency to reform how it handles high profile prison transfers, after it was revealed that the minister's office and the prime minister’s office knew about plans to transfer notorious serial rapist and convicted killer Paul Bernardo, months before it happened.

Facing calls from the Official Opposition to resign, Mendicino dug in Wednesday, defending himself in the House of Commons and putting out a statement indicating changes are ahead, including requiring the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) to inform victims any time an inmate is transferred from maximum security to lower security facilities, and "formally and directly" notify the minister in advance.

In a late-breaking development, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office confirmed that the prime minister was briefed on the transfer before the minister was aware.

“As the Minister said in question period, he should have been informed earlier and he has dealt with that,” said PMO spokesperson Alison Murphy in a statement. She said Trudeau was made aware on May 29, but his staff was in the loop earlier.

“When a staff member in the Prime Minister’s Office was alerted in March by the Privy Council Office about the possibility of the transfer, inquiries and requests for information were immediately made to the Public Safety Minister’s Office. That was the right step to take given the Public Safety Minister’s responsibility for the Correctional Service of Canada,” Murphy said. 

On Tuesday, CSC confirmed to media that it had informed the minister's office by email, first on March 2 and then again on May 25, about the decision to move Bernardo from a maximum security prison in Ontario, to a medium-security prison in Quebec. 

"The Correctional Service of Canada has a process in place to provide advanced notice to the Minister’s office on high-profile offenders," said CSC senior communications adviser Kevin Antonucci in a statement.

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While noting that decisions around specific cases and operations such as offender transfers and victim notifications fall under CSC's purview, not the minister nor their office, Antonucci said that the first email sent notified Mendicino's office of the transfer, as well as "communications messaging" but the final date of Bernardo's move had yet to be determined.

Then, the May 25 message "provided updated communications messaging, as well the fact that the transfer would occur on the Monday, May 29." The minister was made aware of the move on May 30.

When it was made public in early June, Mendicino said he was "profoundly concerned and shocked" by the "incomprehensible" transfer, indicating he also did not have an explanation for the decision to relocate Bernardo.

When asked on Parliament Hill on Tuesday why he wasn't told about the transfer until after it happened, Mendicino said there is "back and forth" between CSC and his department when it comes to prison transfers.

"In this particular case of Paul Bernardo, there was back and forth in the lead-up to the decision. I personally found out the week that the decision was rendered," Mendicino said.

Noting that due to security and privacy concerns, these decisions are "not typically public."

POILIEVRE CALLS FOR MINISTER TO GO

Mendicino's latest statement comes after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for minister Mendicino’s resignation, telling reporters ahead of a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning, if the minister doesn’t step aside or take action to fire those responsible in his office, Trudeau should "fire him."

"When Paul Bernardo was moved from a maximum-security penitentiary to a medium-security penitentiary, Minister Mendicino said he was shocked, totally shocked, and now we know that he was informed three months earlier, and did absolutely nothing," Poilievre said, listing a series of other issues he said the public safety minister has mishandled, accusing him of "lying" to Canadians.

Speaking to reporters in Bagotville, Que., Trudeau put the ball in Mendicino's court to answer for the situation, calling Bernardo's transfer an "extraordinarily difficult one for many people."

"This is why the minister has been reaching out directly to [CSC] to ask some very, very clear and pertinent questions on how this happened, what we can share with Canadians, and what we can do to make sure that the system is working properly," Trudeau said. 

Bernardo, 58, was convicted in 1995 for kidnapping, raping, torturing and murdering two teenagers, 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy, in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont. He was also convicted of manslaughter in the death of Tammy Homolka.

Sentenced to life in prison, he is designated a dangerous offender and is currently serving an indeterminate sentence with no end date.

His transfer has sparked outrage across the country, and has reopened old wounds for the families of victims who have also seen their perpetrators transferred to lower-security facilities in recent years. 

The issue was front and centre in question period on Wednesday.

"He expects us to believe that his staff just forgot to walk down the hall and inform him that perhaps the most notorious killer in Canadian history was being moved?" asked Poilievre.

In response, Mendicino said Poilievre was outlining "a prescription for political interference, which foreshadows what Canadians would get with a Conservative government."

Mendicino said that he has now "made it clear" to his staff that he should have been briefed immediately and "corrective steps have been taken."

TRANSFER UNDER REVIEW

Earlier this week, CSC confirmed to CTV News that a review into the decision to relocate Bernardo has begun. This came after Mendicino spoke with federal corrections commissioner Anne Kelly, to express "in very clear terms" the concerns of the families of Bernardo's victims and all Canadians. 

Earlier this week, CSC confirmed to CTV News that a review into the decision to relocate Bernardo has begun.

In a statement, the federal corrections agency said the three-person committee has started its work and is expected to complete its review "within a few weeks." 

"We know that Canadians want to know the reasons for this offender's transfer. What we can say is that it was based on his security classification review, which is required every two years, and an analysis around the management of his risk within an institution," a spokesperson for the service said in an email.

The review of the transfer, which the CSC said includes external representation, will investigate the "appropriateness" of Bernardo’s security classification and subsequent move to the La Macaza Institution in Quebec.

Further, the CSC said it will review victims considerations and notifications as well as determine whether the legislative policy framework was followed before the transfer was made.

Mendicino has said that he was awaiting the outcomes of this review before considering next steps.

The apparent communications break down has sparked concern among Liberals, about the adequacy of the processes in place when it comes to the flow of information through government to elected officials.

"It's difficult for, I think, a lot of people to see it from the other side, from a community that I represent. This is still a wound, deep wound 30 years later and we need to have this type of information at our fingertips to address this quickly. That didn't happen… Hopefully we see that review soon," said Chris Bittle, the Liberal MP for St. Catharines, Ont.

"We're seeing a lot, in terms of intelligence and important information that hasn't made its way to decision makers… and that's something that needs to be addressed," Bittle said. "We need to work on ways to ensure ministers have the information to be able to make the important decisions that Canadians expect."

Asked if he thinks there should be some disciplinary action taken, Bittle said his "gut reaction would be 'of course.'"

"But I'm sure this is a staffer that may be overworked, that probably feels about one foot tall and wants to crawl under a rock. I would like to speak to that individual in terms of making sure they know the pain that St. Catharines, the Niagara region has been through, the families have been through. This is a careless error that has caused pain." 

While calling the latest revelations "shocking," NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the problem is bigger than just one minister.

"There's a culture in this government where multiple ministers have had serious allegations of not properly reading emails… It's clear that just asking for the removal of a minister when this goes right to the prime minister, this is the prime minister who sets the tone here, and it's multiple ministers. So removing a minister isn't the solution. This is a government that's got to be held accountable," Singh said.  

With files from CTV National News' Annie Bergeron-Oliver and CTV News Toronto