Opposition critic calls for policy review after reports of Ellard pregnancy

The opposition public safety critic is calling for a policy review on conjugal prison visits after reports convicted killer Kelly Ellard is eight months pregnant.

Ellard was convicted of second-degree murder in 2005 for the 1997 killing of Reena Virk. Virk, 14, was viciously beaten and drowned under a Victoria-area bridge.

Ellard, now 34, was sentenced to life with no chance of parole for seven years.

She applied for day parole earlier this year, but was denied after the board said she was still minimizing aspects of the offence.

Yesterday, the Vancouver Sun reported Ellard is eight months pregnant following a conjugal visit with her boyfriend, who is reportedly also in prison.

"I think the biggest concern is for the baby and what sort of life can be available to that baby in such difficult circumstances," said Tony Clement, the federal opposition critic for public safety.

"This raises policy questions about conjugal visits and what protocols are in place because we don't want to create more victims."

Policy meant to create societal ties

Currently, inmates are allowed to have private family visits and conjugal visits up to 72 hours every two months if they meet certain eligibility criteria. The federal policy is meant to encourage inmates to develop and maintain family and community ties.

In his annual report, Howard Sapers, the Correctional Investigator for Canada, also emphasized the need for family contact to ensure the return of inmates into the community.

Clement said he was not advocating for a ban on conjugal visits, but questioned how this pregnancy came to be.

"The circumstances surrounding this particular visit is one that should be reviewed ... In this case, the father is in no better position to care for a child than the mother. That's the kind of thing that we've got to review."

Corrections Canada said pregnant inmates are taken to an outside hospital to give birth, and can then apply to a mother-child residential program to stay with their babies.

The interests of the child, the report says, are always paramount.

With files from The Early Edition

To listen to the interview, click on the link labelled Tony Clement on report that convicted killer Kelly Ellard's pregnancy