Supreme Court Declines to Hear Families’ Lengthy Case Concerning Bernardo Document Access

Canada’s highest court has declined to hear arguments regarding the release of prison and parole documents related to serial killer Paul Bernardo.

This decision puts an end to a long-standing battle to uncover confidential information utilized in determining Mr. Bernardo’s eligibility for parole.

Relatives of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French have been advocating for the disclosure of government records concerning the convicted murderer of their loved ones.

The Supreme Court’s ruling also impacts a case concerning the disclosure of documents to Const. Michael Sweet’s family about his killer, Craig Munro.

Despite access-to-information requests, both Correctional Service Canada and the Parole Board of Canada have refused to release records to the families.

Efforts to reverse these decisions by the federal information commissioner, the Federal Court, and the Federal Court of Appeal have all been unsuccessful.

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In July 2023, the appeals court stated that the requesters were seeking a wide range of information, from trivial to deeply personal, leading to what was deemed as a significant breach of the prisoners’ privacy.

Mr. Bernardo, convicted of the kidnapping, sexual assault, and murders of teenagers French and Mahaffy in the early 1990s, is currently serving a life sentence and has been labeled a dangerous offender.

His contentious transfer to a medium-security prison last year sparked outcry and calls for reforms in the treatment of dangerous offenders.

While the correctional service maintained that all proper protocols were followed, they admitted that the victims’ families should have been better informed.

The federal ombudsman for victims of crime later emphasized that the transfer should serve as a turning point for increased transparency and information sharing with crime victims.