OK. I have had read through the transcripts and can now quote you verbatim what Justice Glaude had to say yesterday. And, yes, I did hear what I thought what I thought I heard, but it looks like it floated right over the top of the victims’ and media’s heads.
First perhaps I should explain that the serious allegations which have plagued and haunted Cornwall for years have sometimes been referred to as “rumour” and “innuendo.” And the word innuendo was bandied around by Dalton McGuinty who, back in 2000 as opposition leader talked about the need for an inquiry “to burn the fog of innuendos and allegations that has been shrouding the Cornwall area and shed light on the truth.”
Now, here are Glaude’s words as found in the transcript: “when we first started this inquiry, I found that there was a lot of rumours, swirling around a lot of innuendo, a lot of things that, well, were just not factual” and “one of the things that I wanted to do, one of the principles that I wanted to set right at the beginning was that we would deal here with facts.”
Could Glaude be more blatant? Without evidence, without witnesses and without testimony he has publicly admitted that he unilaterally concluded that what he calls “rumours” and “innuendo” are false. And this is a “public” inquiry? Which is supposed to “burn the fog of innuendo and allegations that has been shrouding the Cornwall area”?
Small wonder we were scratching our collective heads over the relevance of the “contextual” evidence. Glaude explained that one too. It seems that having dismissed the allegations as false he decided “that we would have to deal with facts and with respect.”
“Facts and respect.” That’s exactly what he said.
Certainly this explains the fact that Glaude has stacked the deck to frame his inquiry with witness after witness whose testimony can buttress his pre-ordained conclusion that Cornwall’s woes have nothing to do with allegations of paedophile rings and cover-ups and everything to do with one big unfortunate institutional oversight of the serious impact same-sex sexual abuse has on young boys – and a bit of gender bias to boot. The whole mess then will be rationalized away in Phase II with recognition that everyone is working at getting their policies, practises and procedures up to snuff, and there is a little work to do here and there, and Glaude will add his sympathetic recommendations to make life easier for “historical” victims of sexual abuse, and there will be a bit of affiirmative action for male victims, and a few knuckles will be rapped – but ever so gently.
But in as much as Glaude has now outright admitted that he has essentially chalked up the allegations to lies and/or fabrications, the truth of the matter is that he is abiding by the mandate. So why this moment of transparency? Is Glaude perhaps trying to shoulder the blame to get the McGuinty government off the hook? Are there salvos being fired at the mandate behind other closed doors? Why after all would Glaude suddenly claim that he has virtually dismissed the allegations which prompted calls for an inquiry when the mandate doesn’t give room for him to address them in the first place? Whatever. We now know from the horse’s mouth at this “public” “independent” and “impartial” inquiry that the allegations which have torn families and an entire community apart and prompted calls for an inquiry will not be addressed because it has been predetermined by the upper echelons that they are false.
What can I say? The cover-up continues. The alleged paedophiles of Cornwall can and will continue to prey.
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Now on to other items of interest from yesterday morning, much of which rests on Glaude’s assurance that all is well and things are moving right along despite the fact that, thanks to the mandate, the inquiry is re-hobbled and grounded with Cipriano’s (Father Charles MacDonald) intent to seek funding to launch a judicial review of Glaude’s ruling that victims can testify, albeit in a limited fashion.
1) Mr. Cipriano (Father Charles MacDoanld) will start the ball rolling on Monday (6 June) to launch a “judicial review” of Justice Glaude’s ruling that the victims can testify. Glaude tells us we must respect Father MacDonald’s right to appeal his ruling.
2) Glaude had “thought” of calling “alleged victims” to testify in June, but given the uncertainty of the judicial review, “we have to be careful not to revictimize them, and given the uncertainty as to whether or not we would be calling them, I thought it best to put that off somewhat so that we can let the appeal review run its course and then prepare the witnesses so that they can come here once, testify and be done.”
3) Glaude plans to continue with evidence related to “the alleged victims” in August, but “when and how that will be done remains to be seen.”
4) “Hopefully” the judicial review will be dealt with by the end of summer.
5) The week of June 12 will now be “vacated,” meaning there will be nothing happening, at least not in the public eye.
6) According to Glaude, “some of you might think that the context evidence was not necessary in that you people or people in this community have been dealing with this matter for some years. The fact of the matter is that we haven’t and that in order that we be apprised of this situation, we have to dig and we have to learn.” (I must note here that despite this profound acknowledgement Glaude still saw fit months ago to determine that the “rumours” and “innuendo” emanating from the community are false)
7) One or two parties intend to seek additional funding and staff – one of those being the Citizens for Community Renewal.
8) Glaude was pleased to report that to date 65 individuals have been “approved” for counselling. He reminded all that counseling services are available to “alleged perpetrators and their families, alleged victims and their families, community professionals, staff of the inquiry and counsel appearing before this inquiry.”
9) Glaude said “the Diocese has now been found to be a public institution.” And that of course is true, Justice Glaude himself made it a public institution.
10) Now that the diocese is a “public institution” it is preparing to give contextual evidence regarding its historical sexual abuse policies, practises and procedures and lining up the witnesses who will testify. This will probably be in August. However….
11) Glaude concluded “I would like to be able to advise you as to when we will reconvene in August, but at this point that is up in the air.”
So, we’re hobbling right along, but, according to Glaude, never fear, all is well.
Alas, I think he speaks he speaks the truth. Those of you who have a vested interest in keeping the substance of the “rumour” and “innuendo” under wraps, fear not. All is as it should be, and all is well. Sleep tight.
Enough for now,
Sylvia
(cornwall@theinquiry.ca)