Marco Mendicino sidesteps questions about returning Bernardo to maximum security

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Thursday the Correctional Service Canada's decision to transfer convicted murderer Paul Bernardo to a prison with fewer restrictions "does not sit well" with Canadians — but he stopped short of saying he would attempt to force the agency to reverse course in the face of public outrage.

Pressed by reporters to say if he'd intervene and somehow move Bernardo back to a maximum-security prison, Mendicino said he spoke to the CSC commissioner and expressed his "concerns on behalf of Canadians."

He said he told the commissioner, Anne Kelly, that the decision would inevitably "spark the backlash that you now see."

"I believe the decision does not sit well with Canadians. It is an affront to the victims and that is why we are going to support them. We're going to make sure victims' rights are at the centre of these decisions," Mendicino told reporters, touting a new ministerial directive that will require CSC to better liaise with the families of crime victims before making a transfer of this kind.

While it's not clear that Mendicino has the legal authority to reverse CSC's transfer decision, the opposition Conservatives have been calling on the Toronto-area minister to do something.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said either Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or Mendicino should issue a directive or an order-in-council — a cabinet decree — to the CSC commissioner requiring that those convicted of multiple first-degree murders be kept in maximum security for the duration of their sentences.

"Conservatives, like all Canadians, were shocked to learn that the vile serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo, one of the most evil monsters in Canadian history, had been moved from a maximum-security prison to a medium-security facility," Poilievre said.

"This is outrageous. He should rot in a maximum-security prison for the rest of his life."

Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli — who represents Ontario's Niagara region, where some of Bernardo's crimes were carried out — has introduced a private member's bill that, if passed, would require that "mass murderers be permanently assigned a maximum-security classification."

"Monsters like Paul Bernardo are getting out of maximum-security prisons because of soft-on-crime Liberal legislation," Baldinelli said when introducing his bill, C-342.

In question period Thursday, Poilievre asked the Liberal government to ignore standard parliamentary procedure and pass the bill through the Commons on a voice vote — a measure he said would put Bernardo back where he belongs.

Calling Bernardo's crimes "despicable" and "unspeakable," Government House leader Mark Holland accused Conservatives of unfairly "politicizing" Canada's correctional services.

"We need a mature conversation. CSC is independent. It can't be interfered with politically," Holland said.

While the government has been tight-lipped about Bernardo's future, CSC has already struck a three-person committee to review his transfer.