Federal government was bombarded by emails from Canadians outraged by Bernardo's transfer

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and key cabinet ministers received hundreds of emails from Canadians back in the spring expressing how "horrified," "shocked" and "utterly disgusted" they felt when they learned that serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo had been transferred to a medium-security prison.

Some of those who wrote messages of protest said their own lives were forever changed by Bernardo's crimes. 

The messages — obtained by CBC News in a 400-word document released under the Access to Information Act — overwhelmingly urged the government to find a way to reverse the transfer and send Bernardo back to maximum security.

"Any persons at Corrections Canada who made such a misguided decision should be forced to watch the Bernardo tapes in all their horrific detail, as were the jury members who were unfortunate enough to be assigned to his case," said an Ontario resident and "loyal Liberal supporter" in one of the emails.

"I have a personal friend who was on that jury and she remains traumatized nearly 30 years later. She tells me that several of the jury members meet regularly for psychological support even to this day."

After three decades in maximum-security prisons, Bernardo was moved in May to La Macaza Institution in Quebec. A lawyer for the victims' families said they were astounded to learn about the transfer the morning it happened.

CBC News reported staff in then-public safety minister Marco Mendicino's office knew about Bernardo's prison transfer three months in advance — but Mendicino said he wasn't informed until after it happened.

Facing calls for his resignation, Mendicino issued a ministerial directive stating that registered victims must be notified when such a prison transfer is being considered. Mendicino was shuffled out of Trudeau's cabinet in the summer.

The emails viewed by CBC News — which were sent to Mendicino's office over roughly two weeks in June — show how memories of Bernardo's crimes still haunt many people.

"Our lives in that city were forever changed when we learned about it," wrote one resident of St. Catharines, Ont. "If only there had been the death penalty, the families would have had closure."

Dozens of emails from the public were forwarded to Mendicino's office from the Prime Minister's Office, other cabinet ministers, MPs and the commissioner of Corrections Canada. Some of the authors identified themselves as former forensic specialists; one said they were a survivor of rape.

More than 60 people sent emails on June 5 after Mendicino made his first on-camera statement about Bernardo's transfer, calling it "shocking and incomprehensible."

Many messages came from residents in and around St. Catharines and Scarborough in Ontario, where Bernardo committed his crimes in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"I remember taking the bus home from high school and being afraid that the Scarborough rapist may be on my bus," wrote one person to Prime Minister Trudeau. "I remember hearing about both Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French being abducted … they were the same age as I was. Then when they were found, it was heartbreaking."