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.
“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 ministers 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.
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 French and 14-year-old 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.
“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
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Three NASA astronauts whose prolonged space station mission ended with a trip to the hospital last month declined to say Friday which one of them was sick.
Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps publicly discussed their spaceflight for the first time since returning from the International Space Station on Oct. 25. They spent nearly eight months in orbit, longer than expected because of all the trouble with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule and rough weather, including Hurricane Milton.
Soon after their SpaceX capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, the three were taken to a hospital in nearby Pensacola along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who launched with them back in March.
One of the Americans ended up spending the night there for an undisclosed “medical issue.” NASA declined to say who was hospitalized or why, citing medical privacy.
When asked at Friday’s news conference which one had been sick, the astronauts refused to comment. Barratt, a doctor who specializes in space medicine, declined to even describe the symptoms that the unidentified astronaut had.
“Spaceflight is still something we don’t fully understand. We’re finding things that we don’t expect sometimes. This was one of those times and we’re still piecing things together on this,” said Barratt, the only member of the crew who had flown in space before.
Epps said everyone is different in how they respond to space — and gravity.
“That’s the part that you can’t predict,” she said, adding, “Every day is better than the day before.”
Dominick said little things like sitting comfortably in a hard chair took several days to get used to once he returned. He said he didn’t use the treadmill at all during his time in space, as part of an experiment to see what equipment might be pared on a long trip to Mars. The first time he walked was when he got out of the capsule.
The two astronauts who served as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — will remain at the space station until February, flying back with SpaceX. Starliner returned empty in September.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Forty-three monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina have been spotted in the woods near the site and workers are using food to try to recapture them, authorities said Friday.
The Rhesus macaques made a break for it Wednesday after an employee at the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee didn’t fully lock a door as she fed and checked on them, officials said.
“They are very social monkeys and they travel in groups, so when the first couple go out the door the others tend to just follow right along,” Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard told CBS News.
Westergaard said his main goal is to have the monkeys returned safely with no other problems. “I think they are having an adventure,” he said.
The monkeys on Friday were exploring the outer fence of the Alpha Genesis compound and are cooing at the monkeys inside, police said in a statement.
“The primates are exhibiting calm and playful behavior, which is a positive indication,” the police statement said, adding company workers are closely watching the monkeys while keeping their distance as they work to safely recapture them.
The monkeys are about the size of a cat. They are all females weighing about 7 pounds (3 kilograms).
Alpha Genesis, federal health officials and police all said the monkeys pose no risk to public health. The facility breeds the monkeys to sell to medical and other researchers.
“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday.
Authorities still recommend that people who live near the compound about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from downtown Yemassee shut their windows and doors and call 911 if they see the monkeys. Approaching them could make them more skittish and harder to capture, officials said.
Eve Cooper, a biology professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who has studied rhesus macaques, said the animals have the potential to be dangerous and urged people to keep their distance.
Rhesus macaques monkeys can be aggressive. And some carry the herpes B virus, which can be fatal to humans, Cooper said.
However, Alpha Genesis states on its website that it specializes in pathogen-free primates. Cooper noted that there are pathogen-free populations of rhesus macaques that have been quarantined and tested.
“I would give them a wide berth,” Cooper said. “They’re unpredictable animals. And they can behave quite aggressively when they’re afraid.”
Alpha Genesis provides primates for research worldwide at its compound about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website.
Locally, it is known as “the monkey farm.” And there is more amusement than panic around Yemassee and its population of about 1,100 just off Interstate 95 about 2 miles from Auldbrass Plantation, a Frank Lloyd Wright house designed in the 1930s.
There have been escapes before, but the monkeys haven’t caused problems, said William McCoy, who owns Lowcountry Horology, a clock and watch repair shop.
“They normally come home because that’s where the food is,” he said.
McCoy has lived in Yemassee for about two years and while he plans to stay away from the monkeys, he has his own light-hearted plan to get them back.
“I’m stocking up bananas, maybe they’ll show up,” McCoy said.
The Alpha Genesis compound is regularly inspected by federal officials.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 in part after officials said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee facility in 2014 and an additional 19 got out in 2016.
The company’s fine was also issued because of individual monkey escapes as well as the killing of one monkey by others when it was placed in the wrong social group, according to a report from the USDA.
The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter Thursday to the USDA asking the agency to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility, conduct a thorough investigation and treat them as a repeated violator. The group was involved in the 2018 fine against the company.
“The clear carelessness which allowed these 40 monkeys to escape endangered not only the safety of the animals, but also put the residents of South Carolina at risk,” wrote Michael Budkie, executive director of the group.
The USDA, which has inspected the compound 10 times since 2020, didn’t immediately respond to the letter.
The facility’s most recent federal inspection in May showed there were about 6,700 primates on site and no issues.
In a 2022 review, federal veterinarians reported two animals died when their fingers were trapped in structures and they were exposed to harsh weather. They also found cages weren’t adequately secure. Inspectors said criminal charges, civil penalties or other sanctions could follow if the problems weren’t fixed.
Since then, Alpha Genesis has undergone six inspections with minor problems reported only once.
In January 2023, the USDA said temperatures were out of the 45 to 85 degree Fahrenheit (7.2 to 29.5 degree Celsius) required range at some of the compound’s monkey cages. The inspection found moldy food in one bin, sharp edges on a gate that could cut an animal and sludge, food waste, used medical supplies, mechanical equipment, and general construction debris on the grounds.
Supporters of medical research involving nonhuman primates said they are critical to lifesaving medical advances like creating vaccines against COVID-19 because of their similarities to people. Keeping a domestic supply of the animals is critical to prevent shortages for U.S. researchers.
Humans have been using the rhesus macaque for scientific research since the late 1800s. Scientists believe that rhesus macaques and humans split from a common ancestor about 25 million years ago and share about 93% of the same DNA.
These monkeys have been launched into space on V2 rockets, used for AIDS research, had their genome mapped and made stars of their own reality television show. They were in such high demand in the early 2000s that a shortage led to scientists paying up to $10,000 per animal.
Outside of rats and mice, rhesus macaques are one of the most studied animals on the planet, said Dario Maestripieri, a behavioral scientist at the University of Chicago who wrote the 2007 book “Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World.”
The animals are very family oriented, siding with relatives when fights break out. And they’re adept at building political alliances in the face of threats from other monkeys. But they can be painful to watch. Monkeys with lower status in the hierarchy live in a constant state of fear and intimidation, Maestripieri said.
“In some ways, they kind of represent some of the worst aspects of human nature,” Maestripieri said.
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Lovan reported from Louisville, Kentucky, and Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks with reporters after chairing a special cabinet committee working on Canada’s plan to deal with the incoming Donald Trump administration. Freeland says she’s stood up for Canadian interests in the past and is ready to go another round. (Nov. 8, 2024)
