SQLFusion - Cornwall Public Inquiry into sexual abuse in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada names members of Cornwall Inquiry Advisory Panel

THE CORNWALL PUBLIC INQUIRY

The Honourable G. Normand Glaude, Commissioner

L’ENQUĘTE PUBLIQUE SUR CORNWALL

L’honorable G. Normand Glaude, commissaire

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 26, 2006

Cornwall Public Inquiry announces Advisory Panel

(Cornwall, ON) Justice G. Normand Glaude, Commissioner of the Cornwall Public Inquiry, today announced the appointment of the members of the Cornwall Inquiry Advisory Panel. The panel will play an important role in the Inquiry’s Phase 2 mandate to foster a healing environment for the Cornwall community. Panel members will work with Inquiry staff to: ensure a strong research agenda supportive of the Inquiry’s work; give thorough consideration of policy issues and options in a holistic, multi-disciplinary environment; and provide opportunities for public and professional input germane to Phase 2 recommendations and activities.

As the activities in Phase 2 will generally occur outside the formal hearing processes, some panel members will be active in reaching out to communities within Cornwall to understand the community’s perspective on its needs. Panel members expect to consult with those who have experienced childhood sexual abuse as well as with community professionals in order to find ways to optimize positive opportunities in the areas of healing and reconciliation for the future.

The Advisory Panel includes the following exceptional individuals: Michael Church, mentor for those who have experienced sexual abuse; Janet Handy, Executive Director of the Gatehouse, a unique response centre for those whose lives have been impacted by child abuse; Dr. Benjamin Hoffman, a specialist in consensus-building, negotiation and dispute resolution; Dr. Peter Jaffe, a professor and clinical psychologist specializing in child sexual abuse; Gail Kaneb, Cornwall businesswoman and active community volunteer, Father John Allan Loftus, a psychologist, professor and Jesuit priest; and Philip Murray, former Commissioner of the RCMP and Member of the Ipperwash Inquiry Advisory Panel.

In creating the Advisory Panel, and guided by the Commission’s Policy Director, Colleen Parrish, the Commission undertook an extensive process to ensure broad participation in the selection of panel members and the finalization of the Advisory Panel’s Terms of Reference. Parties were asked for their suggestions and public contributions were solicited from the Inquiry’s website. Following a careful review of all suggestions, the panel members who were selected represent a variety of backgrounds relevant to the Phase 2 work of the Inquiry including, child sexual abuse, healing, mediation, institutional and community responses and the Cornwall community itself. Each of these individuals has expressed an interest in this important work, making time in their own busy lives to continue to make a public contribution.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of such a distinguished group of men and women to our Advisory Panel,” said Commissioner Glaude. “Their work is important and their wisdom will be vital to the development of a healing environment for the Cornwall community. I look forward to the positive contributions they will make and to our work together I also look forward to the contribution and involvement of the Cornwall community in Phase 2.”

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For more information:

Marie-Josée Lapointe

(613) 244-577 or (613) 355-3011