Groups plan to help Homolka in return to society
Saturday, June 4, 2005 Updated at 2:48 AM EDT
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Montreal — One of the rare sure things about Karla Homolka's life when she is released from prison is that the Quebec government promises she will be treated fairly if she applies for social assistance, worth $560 a month.
Otherwise, Ms. Homolka's post-penitentiary life in Quebec will be one of uncertainty: struggling to find a regular job, facing threats and ever shadowed by the media.
Some people familiar with the penal world think that her best employment prospect would be to work for a prisoners' rights group such as the Elizabeth Fry Society or the John Howard Society of Canada.
Such an option was hampered, however, by a judge's ruling yesterday that once released she cannot be in touch with criminals.
A large part of Ms. Homolka's future life will be regimented by the ruling of Quebec Court Judge Jean Beaulieu. He said she must report her whereabouts regularly to police, follow therapy and stay away from people under the age of 16 or any offenders.
She will also have to cut off contact with Jean-Paul Gerbet, a convict serving a life sentence in a Quebec prison for strangling his ex-girlfriend. (Because they were not married before he was jailed, her chances of getting a conjugal visit were nil even before the judge's order. Also, Mr. Gerbet, a French citizen, will face deportation proceedings if he were to be paroled.)
But in her life outside prison, Ms. Homolka can count on a network of community and church groups that are staunch defenders of the rights of ex-inmates. Their volunteers help former prisoners handle paperwork and find lodging. They have an informal database of 700 Quebec employers who are open to hiring ex-convicts.
Some parts of Quebec are short of skilled workers so local employers are willing to hire former inmates, said Johanne Vallée, executive director of the Quebec Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies.
Stephen Fineberg, a lawyer specializing in prisoners' rights, is amazed how some ex-convicts bounce back, considering the hurdles they face. “Once you're incarcerated you lose your house or your apartment, because you won't pay the rent or the mortgage. Your car will be seized for non-payment. Some of your friends are gone. Some family members won't speak to you.”
Ms. Homolka, however, is no regular ex-con. A movie will come out about the gruesome sexual crimes and murders that punctuated her past life with ex-husband Paul Bernardo. On the Internet, bloggers speculate about her future and websites place odds on her death.
“Prisoners with notoriety have a special difficulty,” Mr. Fineberg said. “And at the moment she's about the most notorious person in the federal system who's about to emerge and try to reintegrate.”
Most detainees turn to welfare as soon as they are released because they have no other source of income, said Claude Morin, a spokesman for Quebec's Employment Department.
Able-bodied adults get a monthly $560 cheque — $537 for welfare and the rest as a credit for the Quebec sales tax. “Once you've served your sentence, we apply the same rules as with everyone else,” Mr. Morin said.
Most likely, even before she leaves the penitentiary, Ms. Vallée said, correctional staff will have helped her set up a bank account and apply for a provincial health insurance card. (While she was behind bars, Ms. Homolka was treated under Corrections Canada's health plan.)
The Elizabeth Fry Society has been supportive of Ms. Homolka and the group's Quebec regional advocate, Ruth Gagnon, has visited her often in custody. Ms. Gagnon has not revealed what assistance, if any, her group would lend Ms. Homolka.
Ms. Vallée said helping Ms. Homolka will ensure she doesn't slip back into a life of crime. “We don't want her to be isolated with another man in the same pattern [as with Mr. Bernardo].”