Quebec, August 12, 2020 – It has been 204 days since the awful murder of Marylène Lévesque, on January 22, 2020. Pierre Paul-Hus, Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles issued the following statement on the unacceptable 5-month suspension of the internal investigation by Correctional Services Canada and the Parole Board of Canada into the death of Ms. Lévesque. Pierre Paul-Hus also denounced the flagrant lack of interest on the part of federal Members of Parliament who no longer want to hear about this important issue.

“The internal investigation is in limbo. The victims want to know how the Board can release dangerous criminals, like Eustachio Gallese, who are considered at high risk of recidivism. On the other hand, experts and Conservative MPs want answers to prevent, similar murders from happening again. Despite the advanced resumption of government activities, including the Special Commission on the Sexual Exploitation of Minors in Quebec, the two federal agencies are asking Canadians and victims believe that COVID-19 prevents them from interviewing, asking questions and drawing conclusions about the exact causes of this heinous murder. This is bad faith.”

Recidivist and dangerous sexual predator arrested on Friday

Friday’s attempted abduction of a teenage girl by sexual predator Michael Cox proves, more than ever, the urgency of holding the Parole Board and the Correctional Service accountable. Cox was released despite the high risk of recidivism. This dangerous predator had been serving a 21-year sentence since 2005 for the rape of 8 women at knifepoint. Pierre Paul-Hus points out that this case, like the Gallese case, raises questions about the reasoning of the Board members who are unaware of the risks of recidivism presented by the individuals they release. According to him, this once again demonstrates the importance of shedding light on the system.

Pierre Paul-Hus wants the immediate and complete reopening of the internal investigation into the murder of Marylène Lévesque, as well as a final date for the tabling of a report that Mr. Paul-His believes must be made public. He is also asking his fellow MPs from other parties, sitting on the Standing Committee on Public Safety in the House of Commons, to complete the study that began in March into this murder. In February, Mr. Paul-Hus obtained the unanimous support of the House of Commons to move forward with this parliamentary study. He is convinced that this unjustified suspension of the internal investigation demonstrates, more than ever, that an independent external inquiry should be launched to get at to the bottom of the causes of the murder.

“As I reiterated in June, if this internal investigation is not completed in the near future, not only will the system have failed to protect Marylène, but it will also allow other criminals to slip through the cracks and hurt other innocent victims as well,” said Pierre Paul-Hus.

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For more information:

Joel Bernard

Office of Pierre Paul-Hus, MP and Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Pierre.paul-hus.a1@parl.gc.ca

Phone number: 613-995-8857