Scheer defends MPs’ use of graphic details from Stafford case in debates

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is abandoning his responsibilities by not ensuring Tori Stafford’s killer is put back behind bars — and he firmly rejects any assertion his MPs are being too graphic about the case in the House of Commons.

Scheer told The Canadian Press on Thursday that he was extremely frustrated and angered by the way he thought Trudeau deflected from questions about why Terri-Lynne McClintic, one of Stafford’s killers, was transferred to an Indigenous healing lodge.

On Wednesday during question period, Conservatives demanded Trudeau reverse the transfer. Many of their questions included preambles that detailed some of the grisly details of the murder.

Trudeau reacted by pleading with the Opposition Conservatives for more decorum.

“I think it was a disgusting and shameful display of a prime minister trying to avoid responsibility on this,” Scheer said in an interview.

He and his Tory MPs felt it was necessary to remind everyone about the horrific details of the crime after Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale referred to McClintic’s role in Stafford’s murder as “bad practices.” Goodale made the remark during his appearance earlier this week on CTV’s “Power Play.”

“When he’s got a minister sitting a few seats down from him glossing over these evil actions of a deranged individual as ‘bad practices,’ then yeah, we’re absolutely going to put before him and his ministers what some of the details are,” Scheer said.

McClintic pleaded guilty in 2010 to the first-degree murder of Victoria (Tori) Stafford, who was last seen in April 2008 being led away after school. McClintic, then 18, had promised to show the trusting girl a puppy. Waiting nearby was McClintic’s boyfriend, Michael Rafferty, who drove his victim to a remote field where he raped her repeatedly.

Court would later hear how McClintic, who confessed a month later, had ignored Tori’s pleas for help. Ultimately, she was killed by hammer blows to her head.

On Thursday, Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott did defend the use of Indigenous healing lodges as a way to provide restorative justice for Indigenous offenders like McClintic.

“It’s my understanding that the person in question is Indigenous,” Philpott said of McClintic.

“I don’t know the details of how the decisions were made, but these are places that have proven to provide restorative justice and at the same time provide the security that’s necessary.”

On Wednesday, Trudeau said McClintic’s security status hasn’t changed since 2014 and that officials make independent decisions.

Scheer says he believes the prime minister’s failure to intervene and reverse McClintic’s transfer is tantamount to signing off on it. “Justin Trudeau has the ability to put Tori’s killer back behind bars,” Scheer said.

“He has a variety of tools at his disposal and he needs to tell Canadians whether or not he’s going to do that. And if he’s not, he’s obviously OK with the decision.”

Correctional Service Canada has declined to discuss details of its decision, but Goodale has asked for a review of the case.