No working rink at prison where MP says notorious inmates play pickup hockey: agency

Canada’s jail service says there is no such thing as a working hockey rink at an establishment the place a Conservative MP says infamous inmates play “taxpayer-funded serial killer pickup hockey.”

Correctional Service Canada says there’s at the moment no functioning hockey rink or tennis courtroom for inmates to make use of at La Macaza Institution, situated outdoors of Montreal.

Serial rapist and convicted assassin Paul Bernardo was transferred to the medium-security jail final yr from the penitentiary in Ontario the place he lived for many years.

His transfer set off a political firestorm for the Liberals, as Tories demanded he be returned to serve out his indeterminate life sentence in maximum-security situations.

The jail service has stated procedures had been adopted and Bernardo lengthy met the standards to be reclassified as a medium-security inmate, with Ottawa saying selections are made at an arm’s size from politicians.

Frank Caputo, a Conservative MP from British Columbia, launched a video on social media detailing a tour he took of the establishment.

In the video posted Sunday, Caputo says he was angered to be taught that the jail offered inmates with a hockey rink and different leisure services.

The correctional service says in an announcement that whereas boards are up round a rink on the establishment, “there has no been no ice for the past two winters.”

In his practically seven-minute video, Caputo additionally particulars how he was offered entry to Bernardo’s cell whereas the inmate was away.

He says that after a “couple of minutes” within the house, he circled to see Bernardo, whose likeness was “unmistakable.”

Kevin Antonucci, a spokesman for the correctional service, says Caputo and union representatives visited the jail in early February.

He says whereas they’re greatest positioned to speak in regards to the specifics of the tour, “it is our understanding that participants did not interact with Paul Bernardo during their visit.”