I agree with basically everything you say. I believe and the families believe in rehabilitation for offenders. To your question about where we draw the line, we draw the line with offenders such as Paul Bernardo. We draw the line with people who murder children and who are sadistic sexual psychopaths. As I said earlier, thank God that they are the minority of offenders, but they are who ones who grab public attention. They are the ones who cause the public to devaluate its confidence in the administration of justice. That's why I say that it is important to draw the line.
For me, the direct answer to your question is that we draw the line with sex offenders such as Paul Bernardo. It may be that, because they are a minority of offenders and the ones that the public is most frightened of, these decisions should not be administrative. Maybe these should be decisions of the Parole Board itself. There may be a hearing at the Parole Board where it decides whether or not this particular offender is appropriate for a transfer to medium security. It shouldn't be done behind closed doors. It should be done publicly and transparently, so the public can evaluate whether or not the process is working properly. If Paul Bernardo has earned the right to be transferred from maximum to medium, then let that be at an open public parole hearing. Let people hear the evidence.
Can you imagine, as I said in my opening, rewarding Paul Bernardo with this type of transfer when two different panels of the Parole Board say that, after 30 years, he has no remorse, no empathy, no insight? That can't be justifiable. I would recommend that, for these types of offenders, these types of decisions should be made by the Parole Board and not done in secret internally and administratively by Correctional Service Canada.