FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s attorney general says it is disappointing and regrettable that the parole ineligibility period for a man who murdered three Mounties in Moncton in 2014 has been reduced.
The New Brunswick Court of Appeal on Thursday said it was “duty-bound” to cut Justin Bourque’s parole ineligibility period to 25 years from 75 years, following a Supreme Court of Canada decision last year.
The Supreme Court ruling struck down a 2011 law that made it possible for judges to extend parole ineligibility periods beyond 25 years for people convicted of multiple murders.
Hugh Flemming says that decision all but assures that families will have to go through the “agonizing process” of participating in parole hearings for Bourque, who was sentenced to life in prison.
Flemming says in a statement the court ruling makes it possible for criminals to be back on the streets sooner, adding that it doesn’t serve society’s best interests.
However, Flemming says the ruling followed the appropriate process.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2023.
