Mendicino says he’s ‘dealt with’ internal information ‘breakdown’ over Bernardo transfer

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino could not say Thursday why he was not aware earlier about plans to transfer notorious serial rapist and convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison, after it was revealed his office and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office knew for months, without informing either politician.

Speaking to reporters amid the fallout, the minister said he’s “dealt with” the “breakdown in information flow,” within his office but would not say if anyone on his team will be reprimanded as a result, or what his staff’s explanation was for why he was kept in the dark in the first place.

“It is very clear that I should have been briefed at the time, and that is something that I made abundantly clear to my staff,” Mendicino said Thursday. “I’ve taken the corrective steps to ensure that that does not happen again.”

As it has come to light over the last two days, Mendicino’s office was first informed of Bernardo’s potential transfer from a maximum-security prison to a medium-security prison through what his office has described as “generic communications products” on March 2.

This came after the minister’s office was informed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about the possible move, requesting further information.

Then, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said it sent a follow-up email to the minister’s office on May 25, four days before Bernardo’s May 29 transfer from Ontario to Quebec. Trudeau was informed that day, but Mendicino wasn’t looped in until May 30, at which time he said he was “profoundly concerned and shocked”

“What’s important is that these issues are identified and they’re corrected and so that is what I have done with my team,” Mendicino said. “It is important that I get those briefings in a timely manner.”

After calling for Mendicino to resign, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the latest revelations show “a failure of leadership at the very top.”

“We now know why the prime minister refuses to fire his incompetent and misleading public safety minister, and it is that the prime minister himself was the one who accepted the transfer,” said Poilievre during question period, asking Trudeau, who was not in the chamber, to “stand on his feet and explain to victims of Paul Bernardo why he wanted to give this monster more freedom and comfort?”

NDP MP Peter Julian called the “level of disorganization and negligence” from the Liberals “appalling.”

“After the public security minister failed to be informed of the transfer one of the most brutal criminals in Canadian history, we now know that the prime minister’s office was informed three months ago. They could have used that time to ensure victims’ families were warned. How does this keep happening on such serious files? Why are they showing such clear incompetence? When will they fix this?” Julian asked during question period. 

In an effort to prevent this situation from happening again, Mendicino has said he’ll be issuing a “ministerial directive” requiring CSC to reform how it handles high profile prison transfers, including requiring victims to be informed any time an inmate is transferred from maximum security to lower security facilities, and “formally and directly” notify the minister in advance.

Mendicino’s latest comments came during a sizable and heated scrum on his way out of a committee hearing on Parliament Hill. 

He was there to testify about a separate federal information sharing breakdown that resulted in intelligence about China’s targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong not making it past the bureaucratic and ministerial staff levels, to the politicians who are in power.

In that case too, Mendicino has issued a ministerial directive in an effort to change the flow of information, ordering the federal spy agency CSIS to make sure that threats against parliamentarians “receive the highest level of attention.”

During the foreign interference-focused hearing, Bloc Quebecois and Conservative MPs attempted to ask Mendicino about the Bernardo matter, but after Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull raised concerns with the chair that the inquiries were off topic, the line of questioning didn’t get far.

“There is no doubt in my mind… That the minister had the information about this transfer and had the information about all the other things pertaining to Mr. Chong… So given that… I’m going to ask the minister if he can do the one thing that I think he knows he should do… and resign right here,” said Conservative MP Blaine Calkins.

Responding to Calkins, the minister said he remains focused “on one thing and one thing only, and that is doing my job to protect the safety and security of Canadians.”

“All of this reflects the lack of transparency and the contradictions, and this is part of the issue with respect to our colleague member for Wellington-Halton Hills,” said Bloc Quebecois MP Kristina Michaud.

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. While the revival of this case has sparked a fresh wave of outrage and upset across Canada, the minister couldn’t say Thursday if there are any plans to reverse Bernardo’s relocation, which is currently under review by CSC.