Beheader could begin outdoor walks in two months
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Posted By Paul Turenne, QMI Agency
Updated 1 month ago
WINNIPEG — Vince Li could begin escorted walks with security staff around the Selkirk Mental Health Centre in about two months.
Exactly two years ago Friday, Li killed and brutalized Tim McLean aboard a Greyhound bus near Portage la Prairie.
Coincidentally, the Selkirk Mental Health Centre, where Li is being treated after being found not criminally responsible for the killing, released its plan Friday for upgrading security to accommodate a Criminal Code Review Board ruling that he be granted escorted walks around the unfenced grounds and to other areas of the complex like the gym, chapel and library.
McLean's father Tim Sr. slammed the timing of the announcement.
"We're very saddened by waking up to that news on Timothy's anniversary (of his death)," he said. "It's very insensitive."
Health Minister Theresa Oswald said the plans were made public Friday because that's when they were finalized.
"We have committed to keep the public informed. (The Selkirk MHC staff) were ready to go with their information today," Oswald said. "If the timing of this information has caused one ounce of additional pain to the McLean family, I want to offer my sincere regret."
The plans for Li's walks include the hiring of two more full-time security officers who will be dedicated to escorting Li and other forensic mental health patients on walks.
The centre's plan for Li also includes allowing the walks only at times when staffing levels are at their peak and assessing the risk before each walk is granted.
The RCMP has been advised of the plans and will be notified when the walks begin.
The new measures should be in place about two months from now, the centre said Friday. The walks can begin once the measures are in place.
Oswald said no fence will be installed around the complex for several reasons, including the fact that the next step in Li's treatment plan specified that he be allowed to walk in an unconfined environment and that it wouldn't be fair to the vast majority of the 230 or so patients at the centre, most of whom are not there as forensic patients.
"Selkirk Mental Health Centre is not a prison and ought not be treated like one," Oswald said, noting doing so would set mental health back 100 years. "The uniqueness of this case has people afraid but we need to be really careful about the stigmatization of mental illness."
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