Here we go again…
If this doesn’t have the look of circling the wagons I don’t know what does.
I am told that a Cornwall police force detective told John MacDonald that he should sue rather than pursue obstruction of justice charges against Cornwall Crown attorney Murray MacDonald and Justices Peter Griffiths and Robert Pelletier!!
Can you believe it? A police officer advising civil instead of criminal action? for the extremely serious allegations of obstruction of justice against officers of the court?
According to John, the advice came yesterday (Friday 26 January) during a meeting with Sgt. Shawn White, a detective with the Cornwall Police Service (CPS).
White, it seems, went to great lengths to discourage John from pursuing his complaint with the CPS, i.e., it’s out of our jurisdiction, the CPS is in a conflict of interest situation because of the inquiry, and intent on the part of Pelletier, Griffiths and Murray MacDonald would have to be proven, the implication being I assume that it would be difficult to prove the latter.
As it stands the complaint seems to be in jurisdictional limbo. White suggested that John might want go to the L’Orignal police or the Ottawa police, but made arrangements for neither, nor, as I understand it, did he offer to make such arrangements. In fact it seems there was not a hint from White that if allegations of criminal wrong-doing are out of CPS jurisdiction or the CPS is in conlfict the CPS has a duty of some sort to make arrangement with an appropriate jurisdiction and then re-direct the complaint and the complainant accordingly. This has happened in the past with sexual abuse allegations. In fact when John initially came forward in 1995 saying he was the victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Father Charles MacDonald it was the CPS which made arrangement with Kingston OPP to handle the allegations. John was not sent off on a mission to find the appropriate jurisdiction or a police force which would not be in a conflict of interest dealing with his allegations. The CPS made the decisions and the arrangements.
Why not the same procedure now? Curious ……don’t you agree?
As for White’s suggestion that John’s ‘best chance’ against the trio would be to initiate civil action, John was not impressed. John is adamant, and told White so, that this isn’t about money: he doesn’t want to line his pockets, he wants justice.
John had papers and evidence which he believes back up his allegations. He showed them to White who, according to John, was able to connect the dots and see exactly where John is coming from.
But, despite that, the Cornwall Police Service has washed its hands of any and all of John’s allegations of criminal wrong-doing against Cornwall Crown attorney and two former Crowns, Murray MacDonald and Robert Pelletier.
Where next as the wagons in Cornwall and beyond are reshuffled and re-circled?
Enough for now,
Sylvia
(cornwall@theinquiry.ca)