RUNCIMAN: PROTECT ONTARIANS FROM JEFFREY ARENBURG
(Queen’s Park) – Leader of the Opposition Bob Runciman today called on the McGuinty Liberals to protect Ontarians from the risk posed by Jeffrey Arenburg.
“This has justifiably set off alarm bells, especially in the Ottawa area,” said Runciman. “The McGuinty Liberals should assure people in Ottawa and other areas of the province that when Mr. Arenburg returns to Ontario, as he surely will, that he will pose no threat to public safety. The Attoryney General’s answers today were completely unsatisfactory.”
Arenburg is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic who was found not criminally responsible for the 1995 murder of Brian Smith, a sportscaster with CJOH television in Ottawa. Arenburg was given an absolute discharge from the province’s mental health system – and last week he was arrested in Buffalo for the alleged assault of a US border guard. Media reports on this issue indicate that the Ontario Review Board, in its decision to give Arenburg an absolute discharge, suggested there was a 24 percent chance he would re-offend within 10 years.
“I’m not sure if that means once every four weeks, once every four years, but I do know the risk management tool used in these cases has a significant error rate,” said Runciman. “It’s simply not in the best interests of public safety to release someone without conditions or restrictions, someone responsible for a cold-blooded murder, when there’s a 24 percent chance the individual will re-offend.
Runciman said the McGuinty Liberals should commit to reviewing the Review Board’s release criteria.
“Mr. Arenburg is going to come back into Ontario and it looks like all we can do is cross our fingers and hope he doesn’t re-offend!” said Runciman. “If the Minister doesn’t have the legislative authority to act, I ask if he would consider, on an expedited basis, regulatory and/or legislative changes under the Mental Health Act that would give the province the ability, through Community Treatment Orders, to address public safety concerns and do it in a way that doesn’t infringe on individual rights.”
