Engelmann welcomes judge's examination

Cornwall Standard Freeholder 

Friday, September 07, 2007 - 08:00 

Terri Saunders

Local News - The Cornwall Public Inquiry is a transparent proceeding open to outside scrutiny, a commission official said Thursday.

Peter Engelmann, lead commission counsel, said he welcomes any member of the public who wishes to take a closer look at how the inquiry is progressing.

"I believe in the principle of the public inquiry," said Engelmann. "We are as open and transparent as we can be."

Engelmann's comments come after a judge in a criminal case suggested he would be examining the inquiry's terms of reference after hearing Steve Parisien, a member of The Victims Group, who believes the commission has gone off the rails.

Obstruction charge

Parisien was before Judge James Fontana on a charge Parisien had obstructed justice.

Albert Roy, a witness at the inquiry, testified in December 2006 Parisien called him at home at counseled him about how to conduct his testimony before the commission.

Roy has said Parisien told him he could have memory lapses when asked certain questions, particularly in relation to Roy's contact with former city cop Perry Dunlop.

Parisien has denied most elements of the allegations against him, but has testified he did suggest Roy could "plead the fifth" while on the witness stand.

While testifying in his own defence Wednesday, Parisien admitted he believes the inquiry has strayed from its mandate which he believes is to focus on the experiences of victims and the way institutions responded to allegations of abuse in the past.

On the inquiry's website (www.cornwallinquiry.ca) the terms of reference are clearly set out for anyone to read.

"The Commission shall inquire into and report on the institutional response of the justice system and other public institutions," the mandate reads, "including the interaction of that response with other public and community sectors, in relation to: allegations of historical abuse of young people in the Cornwall area, including the policies and practices then in place to respond to such allegations, and the creation and development of policies and practices that were designed to improve the response to allegations of abuse in order to make recommendations directed to the further improvement of the response in similar circumstances."

Engelmann said he invites criticism of the work being done by the inquiry, but compels the community at large, including judicial officials, to allow the commission to run its entire course before drawing any conclusions as to whether or not the mandate has been met.

"People are free to do and say what they want because it's a public inquiry," he said. "But I believe the commissioner (Judge Normand Glaude) said it best when he suggested people shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet as to what is happening at the inquiry."

Fontana is expected to deliver his verdict in the Parisien matter Sept. 21. The inquiry resumes Monday.

Inquiry Doing The Best It Can

Cornwall News AM 1220

September 07, 2007 — Despite questions over whether or not the Cornwall Public Inquiry has "gone off the rails", one group with standing at the proceeding feels it is on track. Citizens for Community Renewal president, Paul Scott, reacted a day after justice James Fontana asked for a copy of the inquiry's terms of reference to investigate if it has "gone off the rails". He presided over an obstruction of justice trial related to the inquiry this week and expressed concerns about what he heard during testimony. Scott tells AM 1220 News the inquiry is doing the best it can. (Hear audio clip below) The inquiry's lead commission counsel, Peter Engelmann, says the process is open and transparent and the judge is welcome to investigate it. 

[Audio clip: “I think the inquiry is doing as thorough a job as it can under the circumstances and I think that everything that has happened so far in my humble opinion is going to lend itself to clearing  the air in the final analysis.”]