Cornwall Standard Freeholder

Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 10:00  

Terri Saunders

Local News - A witness at the Cornwall Public Inquiry Wednesday said he was leaving the hearings with something he'd hoped he wouldn't have - more questions.

"It's just eating me up," said John MacDonald. "The last thing I wanted to do was leave here with any nagging questions."

MacDonald's comments came following testimony about a letter written by then-Crown attorney Robert Pelletier to one of his colleagues, then-Crown attorney Peter Griffiths in April 1997.

In the letter, Pelletier provided Griffiths with an update on the status of charges which had been laid against Charles MacDonald the previous year.

John MacDonald has said the priest sexually abused him on a number of occasions in the 1970s when he was an altar boy.

Charges against Charles MacDonald were stayed in 2002 when a judge determined it had taken too long to bring the matter to trial.

The letter includes concerns Pelletier had about a possible conflict of interest he may have in the Charles MacDonald matter given his professional and personal associations with now-Crown attorney Murray MacDonald.

It would be at least two years before Pelletier stepped aside as prosecutor in the Charles MacDonald matter and was replaced by Toronto-area Crown attorney Shelley Hallett.

"I don't know how it's possible that somebody can hold a conflict, especially when he's saying to his boss as early as April 2, 1997 claiming conflict," John MacDonald said, "and then hold that conflict for a further two and a half years before he finally steps aside for that reason."

John MacDonald said he was further disturbed to realize the removal of Pelletier and the appearance of Hallett on the case may have been one of the things which delayed the matter.

"I feel that it's borderline criminal what these guys have done," John MacDonald said. "Had a different Crown been put on when Mr. Pelletier was (first) stating he had a conflict of interest . . . different decisions may have been made.

"This is sickening what I see here. I just don't know what more to say about it."

John MacDonald finished his testimony Wednesday, but not before he raised other concerns about a member of the inquiry's advisory panel. Rev. John Loftus, a Canadian Jesuit priest who once served as executive and clinical director of Southdown, was named to the panel by Comm. Normand Glaude this past summer.

On the inquiry's website, Loftus' biography states he was at Southdown, a clergy treatment facility in Aurora, Ont., from 1986 to 1994.

"Father Charles MacDonald attended Southdown in 1993," said John MacDonald. "I just can't understand what that type of connection to the case . . . how Father Loftus can be sitting on your advisory panel.

"That's another thing I had to get off my chest before I leave here."

"I'll take that under advisement," said Glaude, "and act accordingly."

Following the completion of his testimony, John MacDonald said he felt strengthened by having participated in the inquiry.

"It's not the process that I believe has helped me," he said. "It's having gone through it that's making me feel better about things."

John MacDonald said the inquiry offers victims a chance to tell their stories without being forced to hide behind publication bans on their identity.

"It's a chance to stand up and tell your story and not hide behind anything," he said. "Victims should stand up and be proud of who (they) are."

Glaude commended John MacDonald for coming forward to tell his story.

"Your contribution to this inquiry is nothing short of . . . public service," he said.

The inquiry will resume Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.