A widow to an RCMP officer killed by Justin Bourque in 2014 is calling on Ottawa to ensure her husband’s killer doesn’t see the light of day.
Nadine Larche took to Facebook last week to express her concerns about a New Brunswick Court of Appeal ruling allowing Bourque to apply for parole after serving only 25 years.
When Bourque was initially sentenced in 2014 for killing three Codiac RCMP officers — which included Larche’s husband, Douglas — he was given three life sentences in prison, with no chance at parole for 75 years.
But a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that extending parole ineligibility periods beyond 25 years for people convicted of multiple murders was “cruel and unusual.”
Larche is now encouraging anyone affected by the 2014 Moncton shootings to write a victim impact statement and submit it to Correctional Services Canada.
“I strongly believe that [Bourque] needs to be held accountable for his actions,” she wrote in the Facebook post.
“The possibility of parole when he will be 49 years old is not sufficient punishment and does not contribute to a just and safe society.”
Larche also drafted an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor.
It calls on the federal government to explore options to “adequately reflect a just [and] fair sentence for people who commit heinous crimes.”
In the letter, Larche wrote the Supreme Court ruling has taken away a vital tool for ensuring justice for victims and their families.
She says it also sends a message that “heinous crimes will be met with a lenient punishment.”
“It does not respect the fundamental purpose of sentencing, which is ‘to protect society and to contribute … to respect for the law and the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by imposing just sanctions,’” she wrote in the letter, citing Section 718 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
“I urge you to take a stance against this decision and work towards finding a solution that will ensure that those who commit multiple murders are held fully accountable for their actions.”