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Still, his suggestion seemed to acknowledge that Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale cannot unilaterally overturn Correctional Service Canada’s decision to transfer McClintic to the Okimaw Ohci healing lodge in Saskatchewan. The lodge houses minimum- and medium-security female offenders, and McClintic was classified as medium security in 2014.

Goodale has called for a review of the decision, but has insisted he cannot reverse it on his own. According to a legal opinion provided to the minister and obtained by the Post, he “cannot … provide specific direction in a particular case or on a CSC officer’s decision.” The memo goes on to say that “decisions whether to transfer an offender from one prison to another … are specifically given … to CSC officials.”

But Scheer said a review isn’t good enough. “They still have not even weighed in on whether or not they agree with the decision,” he said. “We condemn this decision. We don’t need to wait for a review to understand that this is a mistake.”

McClintic’s transfer to a healing lodge sparked outrage this week after Tori’s father, Rodney Stafford, spoke out about the decision to the London Free Press. Irvin Waller, an emeritus professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, said the pain Stafford’s family is going through highlights the importance of the federal ombudsman for victims of crime, who can make recommendations to government agencies like the CSC about concerns raised by victims. The position has been vacant since November 2017. On Monday, the Liberals announced a new ombudsman, Heidi Illingworth, will take up the role on Oct. 1.