OTTAWA – Three childhood friends say they were forced to relive the grief and fear of losing Kristen French when Corrections Canada decided to transfer her killer to a medium-security prison.

The women testified before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday about how they felt when they learned that Paul Bernardo had been moved from his maximum-security prison in late May.

Tennille Chwalczuk, who became best friends with Kristen French when she was four years old, said she was filled with a mixture of “absolute fear”, tears and anger when she suddenly learned of the transfer from Mr Bernardo without warning.

“It all came back,” said Marcia Penner, another friend. It left us with despair, a feeling of helplessness.”

Mr. Bernardo is serving an indefinite life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of Kristen French, 15, and Leslie Mahaffy, 14, in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ontario.

He was also convicted of manslaughter in the December 1990 death of his wife Karla Homolka’s 15-year-old sister, Tammy.

Ms. Homolka herself was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for her role in the crimes against Kristen French French and Tennille Mahaffy. She was released from prison in 2005. Mr. Bernardo also admitted to sexually abusing 14 other women.

The law that governs the prison system is failing victims by placing too many restrictions on what can be shared with them, said Benjamin Roebuck, the federal crime victims’ ombudsman.

At the time of Bernardo’s transfer, Tim Danson, the attorney for the French and Mahaffy families, expressed concern that the Department of Corrections refused to release basic information about the decision, citing the prisoner’s right to privacy.

Further details were finally revealed when a review of the transfer was published.

“The way we treat crime victims in Canada is not fair, not kind, not compassionate. That’s not respectful,” Roebuck said.

He told the committee that his office has been concerned about prison transfers since 2010 and that he hoped the Bernardo decision would represent a “watershed moment.”

“We have recommended not making transfers if people have not been informed at the time of an impending transfer,” Roebuck suggested. Victims should be informed that they are allowed to make their comments and express their concerns, he added.

In a study released in July, the Department of Corrections concluded the procedures were correct. However, Commissioner Anne Kelly said the department could have better informed the victims’ families, who said they were not informed of the transfer until it took place.

It is common practice to notify victims once the transfer is complete, Kelly said. In the case of Paul Bernardo, it was decided to inform the French and Mahaffy families a little earlier.

When a person has been seriously injured by another person, it is common for them to respond by demanding as much information as possible, Roebuck told the committee conducting a study into the issues surrounding Mr. Bernardo’s transfer.

“It is particularly important for the victims to know the whereabouts of the person,” he emphasized.

Laura Murray, another friend of Kristen French, testified that when she learned of the criminal’s rendition, she felt the same way she felt as a teenager when she learned that Kristen French’s body had been found.

“It takes us back to the same moment,” Ms. Murray said.

The three women told deputies that while they initially opposed the prison system’s decision to transfer Mr. Bernardo, they would have benefited from access to mental health resources as well as additional notification to give them more time to process the information.