The Parole Board of Canada is being asked again to consider whether Paul Bernardo — the serial rapist and murderer behind some of the most shocking and grisly killings in modern Canadian history — should be released.
Bernardo is serving a life sentence for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering southern Ontario teenagers Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy with the help of his then-wife Karla Homolka. He has been designated a dangerous offender — a label reserved for Canada’s most brutal criminals.
Tim Danson, the lawyer representing the families of French and Mahaffy, said last week they had been denied the right to deliver their statements in person at Bernardo’s parole hearing, scheduled for this morning.
The matter triggered an immediate political backlash on Parliament Hill and, within a few hours, the board said it was looking at ways “to accommodate” the mothers.
Danson said he had been hoping the board would also reschedule to give the families time to arrange travel to and from the hearing.
Instead, Danson said, Debbie Mahaffy — mother of Leslie Mahaffy — will attend on the families’ behalf. Kristen French’s mother Donna will not appear at the hearing.
“Unfortunately, the short notice and last-minute change in position by PBC prevents Donna French from travelling to the hearing. She will present her victim impact statement virtually,” Danson said in an emailed statement.
The board already denied Bernardo full and day parole in 2018 and 2021.
Danson has argued that the laws should be changed so that victims don’t have to go through the parole board process every few years. Until that happens, he said, the families have the right to confront their daughters’ killer in person.
Bernardo was also convicted of manslaughter in the death of his 15-year-old sister-in-law, Tammy Homolka.
Karla Homolka served 12 years for the lesser count of manslaughter in the French and Mahaffy slayings — a sentence described in the media as “a deal with the devil” after it emerged that she played an active role in their deaths.
Bernardo has spent the bulk of his sentence at a maximum-security penitentiary in Ontario. He was moved to the medium-security La Macaza Institution in Quebec, north of Montreal, last year.
News of the transfer sparked outrage and demands for changes to how dangerous offenders are treated.
Following a review, the Correctional Service Canada concluded all proper procedures were followed but acknowledged that the families of the victims should have been better informed.