Robert Pickton’s safety likely behind Quebec transfer, says ex-prison judge [Video]

When serial killer Robert Pickton was transferred from British Columbia’s Kent Institution to a maximum security prison in Quebec about six years ago, correctional authorities gave no public explanation or confirmation at the time, citing privacy.

But Darryl Plecas, a former prison judge at Kent who went on to be Speaker of the B.C. Legislature, says he thinks he knows why – Pickton’s safety was likely at risk at Kent.

Pickton is now in a Quebec City hospital with what police there called life-threatening injuries. Correctional Service Canada said Pickton, who was being held at the Port-Cartier Institution, about 480 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, was the victim of a “major assault” that did not involve guards on Sunday.

Plecas, a criminologist who was a prison judge at Kent from 2004 to 2013, called Pickton’s transfer a “lateral move.”

“Why would someone be moved out of B.C.? My guess would …