Federal legislation that will make it more difficult for mentally ill people like child-killer Allan Schoenborn to gain freedom is one step closer to implementation, said Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam MP James Moore.
The industry minister announced Monday that the federal government would be reinstating the Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act, a piece of legislation that stalled when Parliament was prorogued last summer.
"We are bringing it back," he said. "It is now in the Senate... and we are following through as we promised."
The bill creates a new high-risk category that Moore said would keep such people in custody until the designation is revoked by a court. Any person deemed high-risk would also have the period of time between review board hearings extended from one year to three.
Moore said the issue first came up on his radar when reports came out in 2011 that Schoenborn, who killed his three children in Merritt, was seeking supervised trips outside of the Forensic Psychiatric Institution in Coquitlam, where he currently resides. Darcie Clarke, the mother of the children, also lives in the Tri-Cities and said at the time that she lived in fear of running into former husband.
"For us locally, that was a huge cause for concern and outrage," Moore said. "That is what drew me into this."
Schoenborn was denied the request and an attempt last year to move to a facility in Manitoba to be closer to his family was also quashed by the BC Review Board.
Moore added that the new legislation will give victims more consideration when decisions about an accused are made.
Notifications must go out to victims in the event that a person found not criminally responsible for a crime is discharged from custody along with information about where the accused intends to reside.
Moore also noted that the legislation is retroactive, meaning Schoenborn will be governed by the new rules.
