Guzzo: Glaude unqualified

Cornwall Standard Freeholder 

By Terri Saunders
Front Page - Thursday, July 28, 2005 @ 10:00

Garry Guzzo said Wednesday he’s not convinced Justice Normand Glaude is the right person to head up the Project Truth public inquiry. Speaking before members of the Red Flag Committee, the former Ottawa-area MPP said it’s unlikely Glaude was chosen because he was the most qualified person for the job.

“Just think, if you were a regional judge, and you get a call that you need to provide a judge for an inquiry that might take a year, a year and a half, and you know you’ve got a backlog of cases to get through,” said Guzzo. “Who are you going to send? Your best man? Best woman? I don’t think so.”

The committee, a group formed from members of the Coalition for Action, has a mandate to seek the removal of Glaude as commissioner of the inquiry.  

He was appointed by Attorney General Michael Bryant in April.

In the time since the announcement, Glaude’s ability to lead the independent inquiry has been called into question by those who believe he has ties both to the Project Truth investigation and to the community itself.

Glaude’s family hails from St. Raphael’s; two local men who recently came forward as victims of sexual abuse say they’re related to the judge; and the judge worked in the past with the Ontario Police Commission.

Speaking to the group during a public meeting, Guzzo said the province could have avoided controversy if it had opted for an out-of-province judge, something the committee says is essential to an independent inquiry.

“I said they should get a Jewish judge from the province of Quebec and you won’t have some of these issues to deal with,” said Guzzo. “But they didn’t listen to me.”

As a Conservative MP Guzzo was associated with Project Truth for close to a decade, bringing forth a number of private members bills in the Ontario legislature calling on the province to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse in Cornwall.

“What happened on this file is a crime, there’s no question about that,” said Guzzo. “I made mistakes; the government of the day made mistakes; the police made mistakes.”

Guzzo said while he believes the current Liberal government could have gone about choosing a judge in a more effective fashion, he commended it for going ahead with the inquiry in the first place. Guzzo also said while Glaude may not be the best choice for the job, he’s also not at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to judges.

“I’ve researched his decisions, and I can tell you this: you can do a lot worse,” Guzzo said.