Posted By TREVOR PRITCHARD 

Cristina Weidner can't tell you what business was like before the Cornwall Public Inquiry came to town. That's because, for her, there was none. In April 2007, with the help of her husband, the 45-year-old Montreal native opened Café Connectionz: a quaint little coffee shop about five blocks away from the Weave Shed, where hearings had been going on since the February before.

"It (the inquiry) did bring in a lot of people, a lot from out of town," says Weidner. "It reminded them of Kingston, Toronto, wherever they've come from."

Weidner is likely not the only businessperson in Cornwall who saw their profits grow because of the three-year-long inquiry.

But it's hard to say just what sort of economic impact the inquiry generated for the Seaway City - and more importantly, what the future will bring without it - since neither the city nor the local tourism office kept any official statistics.

Doing so would have required numbers from the inquiry about how many people were staying in Cornwall, and for how long, said Candy Pollard, marketing and events co-ordinator for Cornwall and Seaway Valley Tourism.

"I wouldn't even venture a guess on this one," said Pollard. "I could be completely off base, under or over."

But according to Ramada Inn general manager Scott Lecky, there's "no question" that the inquiry had a positive impact on the city's hotel business.

When the inquiry was in session, rooms were rented out at the Ramada on a nightly basis, says Lecky. At its busiest, the hotel was renting out between six and eight rooms a night to people connected to the inquiry.

"Certainly now that the inquiry's gone, there's going to be some (economic) impact," says Lecky.

According to Weidner, Café Connectionz was busiest in the early morning, when lawyers and interpreters would stop by for coffee, and again at lunch. Weidner says she's currently renting out one of her offices to the commission, a contract that will last until this summer. The inquiry also used a larger conference room a couple of times a week.

Weidner's not too concerned about what the end of hearings will mean for her business. She says the increased traffic has generated a lot of positive word-of-mouth for the small Water Street cafe.

"All these people who were from out of town. . . they said they will be back, and they'll spread the news," says Weidner. "It will eventually bring in a lot of customers and new clients."