Statement from Minister Bill Blair regarding National Joint Board of Investigation results

Ottawa, January 21, 2021

Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, issued the following statement on the findings and recommendations of the National Joint Board of Investigation (BOI) into the circumstances around the 2020 death of Marylène Levesque in Quebec:

'On January 22, 2020, Marylène Levesque was killed in Sainte-Foy, Québec, by an offender on day parole. As we near one year since that tragic event, our thoughts are with her family, friends and community. This was a terrible tragedy that should never have happened.

Following this incident last year, I announced that the Correctional Service of Canada and the Parole Board of Canada would conduct a joint investigation into all of the circumstances that led to Ms. Levesque's death. Both organizations made that a top priority, forming a National Joint Board of Investigation (BOI).

The BOI has identified shortcomings in the case management and supervision of the offender while he was on day parole in the community.

And today, we are releasing their findings and recommendations, along with an action plan to implement those recommendations in full.

The key recommendations include strengthening information collection and sharing, increasing accountability, and implementing improved community supervision policies and tools to help evaluate an offender's risk.

There will also be new, mandatory training on Intimate Partner Violence and will be required for all Parole Officers and their supervisors.

I want to thank the members of the Board of Investigation for their expert advice and diligence in carrying out this important work.

Our colleagues at the CSC and PBC take this report and its recommendations extremely seriously, and they will continue to work hard to prevent any incident like this from ever happening again.'

Quick Facts:

• The BOI was comprised of five members, with the necessary skills and expertise to carry out the investigation.
  
• The BOI included two external co-chairs, both criminologists, independent of both the Correctional Service and Parole Board.
  
• Over the past year, the BOI conducted interviews and examined all of the documentation and facts around the release and supervision of the offender.

Associated links