Cornwall Standard Freeholder

06 February 2009

Posted By TREVOR PRITCHARD

More people appear to have tuned in online to watch the testimony of the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese than any other public institution, according to web statistics provided by the Cornwall Public Inquiry.

On average, more than 146 "unique visitors" per day logged on to the inquiry's website during the 23 days witnesses for the diocese testified.

That figure is significantly higher than four other public institutions that testified for lengthy periods of time: the Cornwall Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Children's Aid Society, and the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The Attorney General's office averaged 119 unique online visitors during its 21 days of testimony. About 115 different users tuned in daily during the 17 days CAS witnesses were on the stand, while on average, 112 unique visitors watched the web broadcast each day during the 29 days of OPP testimony.

No stats were available prior to March 2008, so the number of people who watched the testimony of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services could not be verified.

For the city police's 46 days of post-March 1 testimony, an average of 101 users logged on each day.

Unique visitors are at best a minimum measurement of the number of people who logged in to watch on a given day, said Jayne McCaw, vice-president of sales for Insinc, the company which compiled the statistics.

That's because when multiple people from the same company - for instance, a law firm - accessed the online broadcast, they might have showed up under the same Internet protocol (IP) address and been counted as only one user, said McCaw.

TOUGH JOB

"Bottom line is, it's tough sometimes with these Internet stats to have (a completely accurate picture)," she said.

Some institutional witnesses appeared to have generated more public interest than others. During the eight days former bishop Eugene LaRocque testified, approximately 164 people each day were watching online. For the first four days of alleged sex abuser Jacques Leduc's testimony, about 158 unique visitors tuned in to the inquiry's website.

The statistics suggest former police chief Claude Shaver was the most anticipated CPS witness. On average, 135 unique visitors watched his five days of testimony online. Another high-profile witness, Toronto Crown attorney Shelley Hallett, averaged 130 viewers during her five days on the stand.

Lead commission counsel Peter Engelmann said it was very "hard to judge" how many people paid attention to the inquiry over its three years.

He agreed with McCaw that the Internet stats likely represented a low estimate of the total number of viewers.

"We were getting a sense at least from e-mails and comments from the public that there were several hundred people (watching daily), but that's just a sense," said Engelmann.

The hearings were also shown on local television station Cogeco.

The fact the inquiry was broadcasted live, both online and on television, presented a particular challenge when it came to publication bans, Engelmann said.

More than 100 people who wanted their identities protected were known solely through monikers at the inquiry. But unfortunately, that didn't stop lawyers and witnesses from accidentally blurting out those anonymous people's names during testimony.

"Sometimes we made mistakes and we mentioned names," said Engelmann.

Readers sound off on three years of testimony

"The questions weren't asked. The question should have been asked: why was the CAS still sending wards, Crown wards, to Alfred (the infamous St. Joseph's Training School) after 1960? They sent me in '64."

-Andre Bissonnette, an abuse victim who testified at the inquiry

"I hope Commissioner Glaude's findings are as insightful and even-handed as his handling of this daunting assignment. Adequate funding for our police departments now may save some money in the future, and the establishment of a victim's response team may prevent more suffering."

-Anne Laliberte, by e-mail

"The main thing I didn't like was that Perry Dunlop was the only one that spent time in jail for refusing to testify."

-Emily Laprade, referring to the fact two other city police officers were unable to testify for health reasons

"A lot of good things came up, but there was also a lot of waste of time, a lot of waste of taxes. That's my feeling."

-Mary Walker

"The inquiry on the whole, I don't know. We'll know in the future if it was a waste of time."

-Margaret Harps

"What benefit was derived from the $40 million we spent? And how come (alleged abuser Rev. Charles MacDonald) was never given the lie detector test that was asked for?"

-Ray Alguire

"During the testimony of former judge and MPP Garry Guzzo, I became convinced the inquiry was devoted to destroy the reputations of anyone who asserted that, for decades, a pedophile clan operated in Cornwall."

-Paul Likoudis, by e-mail - - -

#51

headliners

Perry Dunlop

Inquiry

Even if he hadn't spent most of last year behind bars for not testifying at the Cornwall Public Inquiry, it's a good bet Perry Dunlop would still have been the inquiry's number one news-maker.

In late 1993, Dunlop -then a constable with the Cornwall Police Service -gave the Children's Aid Society a copy of a statement made to the force by David Silmser. Silmser alleged he was abused by a priest, a probation officer, and a local teacher. The CPS had stopped its investigation because he had received $32,000 from the local Roman Catholic diocese.

Over the next decade, Dunlop would carry out his own off-hours investigations into sexual abuse allegations in the Cornwall area. He was seen as a hero and a whistleblower by victims and their supporters. But others, especially those in the justice system, felt his actions got in the way of prosecuting alleged abusers.

When he showed up at the Weave Shed in September 2007, Dunlop vowed repeatedly that he would not answer any questions. He was eventually convicted of two counts of contempt of court and spent seven months in jail in 2008.

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