SQLFusion - Cornwall Public Inquiry makes history

Cornwall Public Inquiry made history with testimony broadcast
Cornwall Standard Freeholder
Terri Saunders and Elisabeth Johns
Monday, January 15, 2007 - 10:00
Local News - Even before the Cornwall Public Inquiry began a year ago, it had made history.
For the first time in Canadian judicial history, nearly every moment of testimony, including that in support of a string of motions, was broadcast via the World Wide Web.
Viewers can tune into the inquiry's website (www.cornwallinquiry.ca) and, when the hearings are in session, watch a real-time webcast which captures audio and video of everything that goes on at The Weave Shed.
Well, almost everything.
There have been many times over the past year when anyone watching at home found nothing but a green screen on their computer monitor when they tried to tune it.
That's because the inquiry was dealing with matters related to things such as identities and the need to protect people meant commission staff had to limit the flow of information to the general public.
In a normal courtroom setting, a judge can often impose a publication ban on any information which he or she believes should not be made public.
It often takes just a verbal reminder of the ban to members of the media in attendance to ensure the information doesn't make it into the public realm.
In the case of the inquiry, the advent of technology which makes it possible for hearings to be broadcast over the web has created some difficulties.
Inside the hearing room, several cameras are mounted on posts and aimed at the witness chair, the judge's bench and the lectern from which attorneys question people during testimony.
It's these cameras which open up the proceedings in such a way as to allow a much broader audience to observe the daily hearings. It's also these cameras and the webcast which have been the subject of debate as to whether or not extra measures need to be put in place in order to protect sensitive information.
During the testimony of one witness, a question arose as to the identity of individuals in attendance at a meeting with a lawyer where discussions may have been held about launching civil lawsuits. Although the matter might have easily been dealt with in a more conventional courtroom setting through a simple witness exclusion order, such action was not going to be sufficient in this case, a lawyer argued.
"Ordering witnesses to leave the room doesn't work when it's being broadcast over the web because there are other witnesses who likely have an interest in this who are watching," said John Callaghan, an attorney representing the Cornwall Community Police Service at the inquiry. "
Late last year, Attorney General Michael Bryant announced a series of recommendations put forth by a provincial government panel on justice and the media.
A significant portion of the panel's report dealt with the need for increased openness in the court system in Ontario, and one recommendation suggested cameras should be permitted in some courtrooms.
For the most part, cameras would only be allowed in appeal courts and motion courts and only with the consent of the judge and all parties involved in the matter.
The recommendations are expected to be implemented in the near future, although no definitive timelines have been set.
"As of right now, the Ministry of the Attorney General is putting together an implementation committee," said Craig Carter-Edwards, executive assistant to Stormont, Dundas and Charlottenburgh MPP Jim Brownell.
The move to put cameras in the courtroom will likely be a slow one as officials grapple with privacy issues such as the ones being dealt with at the inquiry.
There will be times when evidence and testimony is covered by a publication ban and any cameras in the room will have to be removed along with any other recording devices before the matter can proceed.
The efforts to allow cameras in the province's courts in some capacity is being greeted with approval by some justice officials.
"Transparency in the courtroom is always healthy, except for certain cases involving sensitive witnesses," said Crown attorney Murray MacDonald.
"Court has always been designed as an open forum." The Ontario Court of Appeal will serve as the location of a pilot project involving the implementation of the camera recommendation. "At this time, there's no timetable for when we might see cameras permitted in other courtrooms around the province," said Valerie Hopper, a senior media relations co-ordinator with the ministry.
"There are a lot of recommendations in the report and we are looking at each one individually to determine how each one can be implemented properly."
tsaunders@standard-freeholder.com