A sex offender who sought a transfer to a women’s correctional facility has been denied, sparking renewed debate over Canada’s prison transfer policies.Daniel Senecal was accused of breaking into a home in Welland, Ontario, and sexually assaulting a toddler. Following the arrest, Senecal requested to await trial in a women’s institution, citing a transgender identity. Authorities denied the request, pointing to Senecal’s status as a repeat offender and the public scrutiny surrounding the case. The decision comes after protests outside the courthouse and growing media coverage..Heather Mason, a founding member of caWsbar (Canadian Women’s Sex-Based Rights) and a former federal prisoner, said she was “not surprised” by the denial but emphasized that public attention played a decisive role.“Daniel wasn’t denied his transfer because the policy changed,” Mason said. “He was denied because he is a repeat sex offender and this time the public was watching. If the public wasn’t watching, I would almost guarantee that he would have been able to get a transfer into a women’s jail.”Ontario has allowed inmates to transfer based on gender identity since 2015, following the addition of gender identity and expression to the Ontario Human Rights Code in 2012..Federally, transfers increased after the passage of Bill C-16 in 2017. Mason pointed to several cases where transfers did occur. One involved Charles Wadling-Leeson, convicted of sexually assaulting a teaching assistant in Toronto, who was placed in a women’s jail before being returned to men’s custody for “inappropriate behavior.” Another involved Patrick Pearsall, a convicted sex offender, who was also initially transferred to a women’s facility.Drawing from her own experience in prison, Mason described the effects of housing male-born inmates in women’s facilities. “It changes the whole dynamic,” she said.“You now have men in there who are fully intact. They’re a lot stronger than you are. They overpower us. There are women who are really scared.” She said the presence of male-born inmates can lead to intimidation, sexual coercion, and conflicts among women. “There have been pregnancies, there’s been abortions, there’s been harassment. It pits women against each other and makes prisons more dangerous.”.Despite the denial, Senecal retains options to challenge the decision. “He can file grievances, he can bring a human rights complaint, he can seek judicial review,” Mason explained. “But in reality, his chances are slim. With the public attention on this case, it makes it almost impossible for the ministry to backtrack.”Still, Mason expects Senecal will continue to pursue transfer requests if sentenced federally. “Do I believe that once he is sentenced federally that he is going to try again? Yes, I do,” she said. “But with this level of public attention, I don’t think Correctional Service Canada will allow it.”Mason argued that safer alternatives exist, pointing to unused ranges and pods in men’s prisons that could be designated for transgender inmates. “They could tailor those ranges to the unique needs of those who identify as women,” she said. “They would still have access to amenities, but they wouldn’t gain access to women or to the children who live in women’s prisons through the mother–child program.”.caWsbar, the group Mason co-founded, is backing a Charter challenge to federal transfer policies. The case, supported by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, argues that the policies violate the rights of female inmates under sections 7, 12, and 15 of the Charter. “What I want people to know is that there are groups out here challenging this policy,” Mason said. “It is a danger to women and it needs to be reversed.”Mason also noted a shift in Canadian media coverage, with mainstream outlets increasingly reporting on prison transfer cases. “I was very surprised to read about the Toronto Star covering Charles [Wadling Leon],” she said. “For a long time, the public didn’t believe this was even happening. Now people are starting to see it.”
