MPs to study controversial prison transfer of killer Luka Magnotta

A parliamentary committee voted Monday to look into why convicted first-degree murderer Luka Magnotta was quietly transferred from a maximum to a medium-security prison.

During an emergency debate, the standing committee on public safety and national security passed an amended motion to hold one meeting on Magnotta's transfer.

The committee is now calling for four witnesses to appear before it, including the warden of La Macaza Institution in Quebec, where Magnotta was moved in 2022.

MPs also are calling for testimony from Commissioner of Correctional Service Canada (CSC) Anne Kelly, representatives of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers and representatives of the medical team involved in Magnotta's transfer.

A jury found Magnotta guilty of first-degree murder in 2014 for the killing and dismemberment of international student Jun Lin in 2012.

Lin's body parts were found in a suitcase outside Magnotta's apartment, in packages sent to the headquarters of political parties and two Vancouver schools, and in a Montreal park.

After an international manhunt, Magnotta was arrested in Berlin in 2012 at an Internet cafe.

Magnotta's prison transfer was made public recently after Conservative MP Frank Caputo toured the medium-security La Macaza Institution last month. Serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo was transferred to La Macaza in May 2023, setting off a political firestorm.

Caputo said that when he was touring the prison, a man walked past him who was later identified by a staff member as Luka Magnotta.

"To see him in medium-security seemingly so soon after his offence was committed ... really did shock me," Caputo told CBC News.

CSC later confirmed that Magnotta was transferred to La Macaza two years ago. CSC said it sent registered victims notifications of Magnotta's transfer but the agency does not "typically comment or publicly announce" such transfers publicly.

"To provide further context, we have a number of inmates with affiliations to security threat groups (gangs), and who are incompatible with other inmates, which could make it a safety and security risk to disclose their specific location and placement," CSC said in a media statement.

In heated exchanges during Monday's committee hearing, the Liberals and Conservative accused each another of engaging in political theatrics.

Liberal MP Peter Schiefke said that if any of his family members, or members of other MPs' families, suffered what Bernardo's victims experienced, he'd "want that person to never see the light of day."