Cabinet Minister Shelly Glover says Vince Li should not walk the streets of Winnipeg

Vince Li could soon be living in Winnipeg. And he could be walking around the city on his own.

Eight years ago, on a Greyhound bus, Li cut off another man's head. He was suffering from schizophrenia. The courts found him not criminally responsible for the murder of Tim McLean.

Since then, Li has undergone psychiatric treatment in Selkirk, Manitoba. And the provincial review board has granted him some limited freedoms.

Now his doctors are recommending he be allowed to move to Winnipeg, first to a locked medical ward and eventually to a high-security group home. And Manitoba's senior cabinet minister is not pleased.

"It is the unsupervised passes in Winnipeg, the increasing freedoms that are being afforded to Mr. Li, that, frankly, I think are unacceptable," Glover tells As It Happens host Carol Off. "We put forward a bill to address public safety and the public safety should be the primary focus."

That bill, which became law last year, does not apply retroactively to Li.

"He decapitated a young man and then proceeded to eat his body parts. This is a horrific crime that, frankly, scared the entire country," she says. "Just the mere fact that this brutal act happened indicates . . . that he is a risk to cause grave harm to the public."

The doctors treating Li say that he is at low risk to reoffend. They note that he has been a model patient. And that he has been taking his medication to control his mental illness.

Glover says she has seen cases in her time as a police officer in Winnipeg where people found not criminally responsible deemed a low risk go on to other violent acts. She says that's exactly why the government passed its Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act, creating new restrictions.

She cited the case of two teenagers who killed an elderly man in Winnipeg in the 1980s, Robert Chaulk and Francis Morrissette. The pair were found not criminally responsible and eventually released. Chaulk later killed two more people.

Nonetheless, when it comes to reoffending, those found not criminally responsible are much less likely to commit new crimes that ex-convicts. 

Ken Mackenzie oversees the treatment and supervision for all people found not criminally responsible in Manitoba. Last year, he told The Winnipeg Free Press that for former criminals, the recidivism rate is 40-50 percent. For those found not criminally responsible, it is 10-15 percent. And for those found not criminally responsible who were hospitalized for the most violent crimes, it is almost zero.

And what about the public's rights? When is the public going to have the right to be safe?- Minister Shelly Glover

Glover argues that most people that go to prison are not recidivists and says that's why her government has invested in rehabilitation programs.

"However, in this specific case, I believe the protection of the public comes first and when they've demonstrated this kind of a brutal act, we have to take measures to protect the public," she says. "I've seen the cases where they get out . . . and they kill again."

When asked whether she believes Li will kill again, Glover said she was not speculating about his specific case. "Absolutely not, I'm not saying that's my expectation."

But she added, "Because of the brutal nature of what he did, we ought to fear there is the potential for him to reoffend."

Li no longer suffers from paranoid delusions. And taking his medication is a condition of his right to unescorted passes.

"And what about the public's rights? When is the public going to have the right to be safe?," asked Glover.

She denied that she is playing politics with people's strong emotions over this case.

"That's ridiculous. I spent almost 19 years policing. I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother. I care about my community," Glover says. "It has nothing to do with politics."

When asked whether she thought the review board and those who support loosening the restrictions on Li don't care about the community, Glover had this to say:

"I believe if they had been able to follow the admendments we've put in place, we'd have been in a much better place."