Appeal court rules inquiry will not hear two witnesses

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

19 January 2008

Posted By Elisabeth Johns

OPP lawyers have won an appeal decision not to allow the judge helming the Cornwall Public Inquiry to hear evidence from two witnesses.

Three Ontario Court of Appeal judges ruled Friday Comm. Normand Glaude "exceeded his jurisdiction" by trying to hear the evidence of a woman who alleged she was raped as a teen.

Lawyers for the Ontario Provincial Police argued Glaude should not be allowed to hear the woman's evidence, or that of her mother, since the reporting of the alleged incident took place immediatly after the incident.

They said because of this, it does not fall within the inquiry's mandate, which is to look at how public institutions responded to historic allegations of abuse.

The matter went to the Ontario Divisional Court in September, where two out of three panel judges agreed the commission should hear testimony from both the woman and her mother.

The woman, known by a moniker as C-12, alleged she was raped by two teenage boys in 1993. She said she reported it to police officers in Alexandria and claimed she was intimidated, improperly questioned and not taken seriously.

She further alleges evidence collected as part of a sexual assault examination was lost.

Lead Commission Counsel Peter Engelmann said although he had not fully read the decision, it was "very disappointing for this young woman and her mother."

"We don't know yet whether this will impact on the two witnesses only or if it will have a broader impact on the inquiry," Engelmann said.

He has yet to consult with the commissioner as to whether they will put forward an application for leave to appeal.

If successful, this would allow them to apply to the Supreme Court of Canada for a full appeal of the decision made by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Dallas Lee, a lawyer who represents the woman and her mother, said he must now go back and try to explain this decision to his clients. "We're disappointed, obviously," Lee said.

"It's another blow to this young woman that she didn't need."

"As far as I'm concerned this inquiry is all about hearing the difficulties victims faced in dealing with the justice system."

He said the woman still, to this day, struggles in dealing with police.

ejohns@standard-freeholder.com