Skip to main content

Corrections defends Bernardo's privacy, as it faces calls to detail transfer reason

The Correctional Service of Canada is defending Paul Bernardo's privacy rights after the public safety minister said they should be waived.

Marco Mendicino says Canadians deserve to know why the serial rapist and killer was transferred from a maximum-security prison to medium security.

The independent federal correctional service is reviewing the transfer after widespread backlash, saying in a statement earlier in the week that while it understands Canadians want answers, it was "restricted by the law" in what it can say.

What prison authorities are allowed to disclose, including to victims, is outlined in the law governing corrections and in the federal Privacy Act.

Federal correctional spokesman Kevin Antonucci says in a statement today that under the privacy law it cannot disclose an inmate's personal information without their consent, "except in specific circumstances."

It says considerations include the sensitivity of the information as well as the likelihood and level of "injury relative to the benefits of the disclosure to the public."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Canada-India tensions: How we got here and what's at stake

In the past month, Canada has accused the Indian government of being involved in a murder on Canadian soil and India has ordered Canada to remove most of its diplomats from the country. Here's how the two countries got to this point, as well as what's at stake if tensions don't ease.

Rideau Hall apologizes for honouring Nazi veteran, Trudeau 'carefully' considering unsealing records

Rideau Hall is apologizing for the historic appointment of a man who fought for a Nazi unit in the Second World War, to the Order of Canada. Now, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's office says it is examining two subsequent medals granted in the last two decades. This, as Jewish advocacy groups say the recent and resurfacing recognitions further make their case for the need to unseal Holocaust-related records.

Stay Connected