No decision on possible Bernardo series: CBC
St. Catharines mayor, MP oppose broadcast
Canada’s public broadcaster says it has not decided if it will run a series about serial killer Paul Bernardo on its news magazine The Fifth Estate.
A day after St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik took to Twitter to oppose the possible series on Bernardo, the CBC said it has yet to make a decision.
CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson said in an email Friday that The Fifth Estate is considering looking at sex crimes against women and that Bernardo’s crimes would be a part of that larger story.
“We would never comment on a story that is still just in the formative stages. That said, the bar for any story CBC News does must meet the public interest,” Thompson wrote. “To be clear, we haven't chosen to do this story as yet; it's just one aspect of a broader exploration regarding sexual violence against women that The Fifth Estate is considering.”
On Wednesday, the Globe and Mail reported The Fifth Estate was considering airing “a series of programs about Paul Bernardo” and that the idea had prompted objections from CBC news staff, including from one of the show’s co-hosts, Gillian Findlay.
Bernardo was convicted of torturing and murdering two teenage girls in 1995, Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Sendzik expressed what he called his “absolute opposition regarding a proposed CBC series about a serial rapist and murderer who left a deep scar on our entire community.”
“While I respect The Fifth Estate and its investigative journalism, there is nothing to gain from producing a series about a heinous person.”
The mayor said that in support of the French and Mahaffy families, he would reach out to CBC president Catherine Tait and to The Fifth Estate’s producers.