Niagara residents upset over Paul Bernardo documentary

The Globe and Mail revealed that the CBC’s Fifth Estate was planning a series about Paul Bernardo.

Paul Bernardo is behind bars for the torture and murder of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, teenagers snatched by Bernardo and his then-wife Karla Homolka in the 1990s.

The sadistic couple also raped and killed at least one other person, Homolka’s 14 year old sister Tammy. For years leading up to the murders, Bernardo kept women in southern Ontario in fear.

Bernardo and Homolka lived in Port Dalhousie they kidnapped Kristen French as she walked through a church parking lot in St. Catharines. St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle says he reacted to news of the series with shock.

“I don’t take criticizing a news organization lightly, but nothing new is happening. This is just to boost sagging ratings and trying to find the most sensational case they can for no reason It’s only going to harm the families. It’s only going to harm the residents of Niagara for no good reason.”

Bittle says his office has handled several complaints about the series from residents. St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik posted a statement to social media; expressing his “Absolute opposition” to the series about “A serial rapist and murderer who left a deep scar on our entire community.” Sendzik also says “There is nothing to gain from producing a series about a heinous person.”

A spokesperson said the CBC would never comment on a story that is in the formative stages but also that the bar for any CBC story is in the “public interest.”