13 December 2008

Posted By TREVOR PRITCHARD

Two prominent Cornwall attorneys are on the list to testify at the Cornwall Public Inquiry next week.

Murray MacDonald and Don Johnson are scheduled to be the first witnesses for the Ministry of the Attorney General to appear at the long-running inquiry into sexual abuse allegations in the Cornwall area.

MacDonald has spent the past 15 years as Cornwall's Crown attorney. He recently told the Standard-Freeholder he is looking forward to testifying.

Johnson, a former Crown attorney, is now a well-known defence lawyer.

The Attorney General's office is the final institution to give its evidence at the inquiry. In November, the province's current Attorney General, Chris Bentley, announced all testimony at the inquiry must be heard by Jan. 30, 2009.

Their witnesses had been scheduled to start testifying last week, but the testimony of retired Project Truth inspector Pat Hall took longer than expected.

Lead commission counsel Peter Engelmann said there will probably be "between 12 and 15" witnesses called from the ministry.

"All of the people that you would expect, given what you've heard at this inquiry, we intend to call," Engelmann said.