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Last year, when Tori Stafford's family was officially informed that the woman who had killed their granddaughter had been transferred from prison to a healing lodge, they realized that they could not do anything.
"We did not really consider that it was a problem to solve. The letter was: "So sad, too bad, it happened, you can not do anything," said grandmother Doreen Graichen on Wednesday.
When his son, Rodney Stafford, learned his transfer this fall, he got angry. The London Free Press reported on the transfer, organized rallies and demonstrations, causing public outrage.
To the surprise of the family, and perhaps to that of thousands of ordinary Canadians who think their voices are not important, the federal government changed the rules on Wednesday to prevent such things from happening. breed and send the killer Terri-Lynne McClintic back to prison.
Federal prisoners will find it harder to transfer to Aboriginal "healing lodges" when they are serving long sentences, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said.
According to new rules announced Wednesday, prisoners will not be eligible for transfers to healing lodges without secure perimeters until they are in the "preparation for release" phase of their sentence.
The Correctional Service of Canada will also need to consider the behavior of inmates and the distance between them and their eligibility for unescorted temporary absences before transferring them.
In addition, the Deputy Commissioner for Women will be involved in decisions to ensure the consistent application of national standards and the consideration of relevant factors.
The changes will apply to past and future cases.
Rodney Stafford learned the new rules from reporters Wednesday and said he was waiting for the message that McClintic would have been fired or was going to be fired.
"I'm just sitting here in limbo. It's brutal. "
But Stafford said he was happy that the public protests prompted new rules.
"It contributes to public safety," he said.
He did not seem impressed by the idea that he would have helped force the federal government to make changes.
"It's in the name of my little girl," he said.
Tori, 8, was walking home from school in Woodstock on April 8, 2009, when McClintic approached her, promising to show her a pup and lure her into a car driven by Michael Rafferty.
The two men drove the girl to an isolated location north of Guelph where Tori was raped, beaten to death and hidden in garbage bags in a grove of trees.
McClintic pleaded guilty to first degree murder in 2010 and testified at Rafferty's 2012 trial, where he was convicted of first degree murder.
At this trial, McClintic's troubled past and his violent nature became even more evident. That same year, she pleaded guilty to badaulting an inmate at the Grand Valley Institute in Kitchener, whom she had lured into a meeting on the pretext of seeking help from a police officer. mentor.
At the end of last year, McClintic, 28, was transferred from Grand Valley to the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge in Saskatchewan.
Rodney Stafford did not receive the required notification from the Correctional Service of Canada regarding the transfer.
Once he did, his supporters started to plan a rally on Parliament Hill and, as soon as the news came out, provincial and federal politicians began to press on the federal Liberal government to cancel the transfer.
Woodstock Police Chief Bill Renton, who led the investigation into Tori's disappearance and the hunt for his killers, denounced the transfer.
Goodale ordered Correctional Service Canada to review its decision and policies, but after a lively and animated debate in the House of Commons, the Liberals rejected a Conservative motion to condemn and overturn the decision.
The rally on Parliament Hill on November 2 brought together most of the Stafford family, Graichen said.
"My children saw cousins they had not seen for 40 years, there to support us," she said.
Like nine years ago, thousands of Canadians supported the family because of who Tori was and what had happened to him, said Graichen.
"It was such a brutal act. It could have been the little girl of anyone.
Goodale told reporters on Wednesday that it was necessary for the Correctional Service to "increase public awareness" of how it makes decisions.
"These are decisions that are not made lightly or capriciously. They are based on solid evidence and principles, and there is a need to better understand this. "
In addition, communication with victims must be more meaningful and useful given the anxiety they have suffered, he said.
"They need to know that their point of view is well respected."
This statement sounded with Graichen.
"I think the family of victims should have a stronger voice in what is happening and not just be informed, after the fact:" Oh, by the way, it happened. "
His son has struggled since Tori's death, but is committed to making a difference in the Canadian justice system, said Graichen.
"I'm very proud of him – he makes the difference that he said he was going to do it."
With records from the Canadian Press
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