Robert Pickton transferred to Quebec prison, according to victim's family

Serial killer Robert Pickton has been transferred out of B.C. to the Port-Cartier maximum security prison in Quebec, according to the family of one of his victims.

Joyce Lachance said she received a phone call from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) informing her of Pickton's June 20 relocation from the Kent Institution in Agassiz.

Lachance's niece Marnie Frey was one of six women Pickton was convicted of murdering on his Port Coquitlam pig farm. 

Lachance said she was upset to hear the CSC's reasons for the move: so Pickton could receive better protection and be exposed to better programs.

CBC News tried to contact the families of other victims but did not hear back from them Friday afternoon.

"What are you talking about better protections? He's in a cell by himself," she said.  "And better programs? He never wanted any programs, that's what we were told."

In an emailed statement, CSC said it could not comment specifically on Pickton due to privacy concerns. 

"Transfers are made to manage security requirements within an institution," wrote CSC spokeswoman Esther Mailhot. 

"When an offender is transferred, CSC may disclose to registered victims a summary of the reasons for the transfer [and] the name and location of the penitentiary in which the sentence is currently being served."

Lachance said even though Pickton was sentenced to life in prison in 2007, her family still struggles with the loss of Marnie.

"It is [emotional]," she said. "You think you've put it behind you but then you get this phone call."

Port-Cartier Institution is located in the north shore region of Quebec, 600 kilometres from Quebec City.