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Supreme Court rejects family bid to make access case for Bernardo documents

Family of victims Mahaffy and French have long sought the release of government records
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Paul Bernardo is shown in this courtroom sketch during Ontario court proceedings via video link in Napanee, Ont., on Oct. 5, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning

Canada鈥檚 top court says it won鈥檛 hear arguments about the release of prison and parole documents concerning serial killer Paul Bernardo.

The decision marks the end of a years-long battle to expose confidential information used to decide Bernardo鈥檚 prospects for parole.

Family members of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French have long sought the release of government records about their loved ones鈥 convicted murderer.

The Supreme Court decision also affects a case about the disclosure of documents to the family of Const. Michael Sweet about his killer, Craig Munro.

Correctional Service Canada and the Parole Board of Canada both declined to release records to the families via access-to-information requests.

The federal information commissioner, the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal all rejected efforts to get those decisions reversed.

The appeal court鈥檚 decision in July 2023 said the requesters sought everything 鈥渇rom the trivial to the intensely personal鈥 in what it deemed a 鈥渢otal invasion鈥 of the prisoners鈥 privacy.

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

His controversial transfer to a medium-security prison last year prompted howls of outrage and demands for changes to how dangerous offenders are treated.

The correctional service concluded all proper procedures were followed, but acknowledged that the families of the victims should have been better informed.

The federal ombudsman for victims of crime later said the transfer should be a 鈥渢urning point鈥 for more information to be shared with victims of crimes.

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