The Cornwall Public Inquiry was established by the Government of Ontario on April 14, 2005, under the Public Inquiries Act. The mandate of the Commission was to inquire into and report on the events surrounding allegations of abuse of young people in Cornwall by examining the response of the justice system and other public institutions to the allegations. The Commission made recommendations to improve the response in similar circumstances. As well, the Commission inquired into and reported on processes, services and programs to encourage community healing and reconciliation in Cornwall.



The Commissioner, Justice G. Normand Glaude, was appointed by Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant in April 2005.



In keeping with Commissioner Glaude's commitment to provide the public with current information throughout the Inquiry, throughout the process regularly updated information was posted on this website. Throughout the hearings, the website featured live webcasts of the Inquiry. Final submissions were also broadcast via webcast.



Hearings for the Cornwall Public Inquiry ended on January 29, 2009. Final submissions were completed on February 27, 2009. Commissioner Glaude released the Report of the Cornwall Inquiry on December 15, 2009. It was transmitted to Attorney General Chris Bentley shortly before the public release.

Cornwall inquiry fails to dispel or confirm pedophile ring

CORNWALL, Ont. - Rumours that swirled for years that children were abused at the hands of a pedophile ring in eastern Ontario were neither put to rest nor given credence Tuesday by a $53-million public inquiry report four years in the making.

The Cornwall inquiry's official mandate was to examine institutional responses to historical claims of sexual abuse, and the sensational allegation that fuelled it went unresolved in the more than 1600-page report.

"Throughout this inquiry I have heard evidence that suggested that there were cases of joint abuse, passing of alleged victims, and possibly passive knowledge of abuse," Commissioner G. Normand Glaude wrote.

The police declared there was no evidence of a ring, but that failed to quell the suspicion and fear in the community.

"There is good reason why certain members of the public were less than satisfied with the OPP's unequivocal position about the non-existence of a ring," Glaude wrote.

"I find that the OPP did not conduct a full-scale investigation into the linkages between victims and perpetrators."

Glaude made the point, however, of noting "much of what I have heard about linkages remain allegations that have not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

The report found institutional response to reports of sexual abuse was, in large part, inadequate and failed to protect the vulnerable. Among the commissioner's recommendations was to expand training and mandatory education for professionals such as public servants, those in the justice system, teachers and others having contact with children or adults who may have been sexually abused.

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/cornwall-inquiry-fails-to-dispel-or-confirm-pedophile-ring-1.464739

Cornwall sex abuse victims given large settlements

Although confidentiality agreements could mean taxpayers will never learn the true cost of the settlements, a former MPP predicts the payouts will total tens of millions of dollars.

"I would look at somewhere between $70-100 million," said Garry Guzzo, a former Conservative MPP who blew the whistle on the scandal and pushed for a public inquiry.

"It's a lot of money coming from very few taxpayers, and the people of the Catholic Church are taxpayers."

While sources have told CTV the payouts are in the millions, alleged victim Steve Parisien says some individuals are getting less than $20,000.

"I think parishioners and taxpayers have a right to know how much has been paid out," he said.

A lawyer representing dozens of the victims wouldn't reveal how much money was paid. However, he confirmed several settlements have been reached with the Catholic diocese, the Ontario government and other Catholic organizations.

There are also several cases in the works against the Children's Aid Society.

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/cornwall-sex-abuse-victims-given-large-settlements-1.521190

A priest investigated by the Cornwall Inquiry and convicted of sexual assaults of children has been charged with sex offences once again. Nick Westoll / Global News File

The little city of Cornwall, Ont., is not a place you'd expect unspeakable secrets to lurk. But for the past seven years, it has been racked by a dark drama that has shredded reputations and driven men to suicide. The villains, it's alleged, are that most loathsome form of human life -- pedophiles. The pedophiles allegedly include Catholic priests and the city's leading citizens.

The so-called pedophile ring has sparked endless charges of cover-ups and corruption in high places. The local MP is demanding a provincial inquiry. Some people even think the police may be in cahoots with the guilty. "The hysteria has been palpable," says Jacques Leduc, a respected lawyer who has lived in Cornwall all his life. "It has been a rather dark moment in our region's history."

The latest effort to track down the sex abusers is called Project Truth. It was launched in 1997 by the Ontario Provincial Police after the local police force was torn apart by the controversy. Since then, Project Truth has laid more than 100 charges against 14 men. But, so far, there has been not a single conviction. Six of the cases have yet to proceed. Four of the accused are dead. One man was acquitted; one was found unfit to stand trial; one had his charges dropped last fall. And one case was thrown out of court last week after a spectacular prosecutorial debacle. That case was Jacques Leduc's.

It all began in 1992, when the local Catholic church, in an effort to avert a criminal case, paid $32,000 in a private settlement to someone who said he was abused as an altar boy by a parish priest. The priest's guilt or innocence has never been tested in court.

Then along came a crusading cop named Perry Dunlop. Mr. Dunlop was scandalized that his own police force had decided there wasn't enough evidence to nail the priest. It was personal; Mr. Dunlop was a fervent convert to Catholicism, and the priest was his family priest.

His bosses told Mr. Dunlop to mind his own business. But he became obsessed, convinced that Cornwall's children were in peril from the priest and other predators. "If a loose cannon is protecting children, then I'm a loose cannon," he told the CBC's fifth estate in 1995. "We need to protect our children no matter what the rules say." He and his wife, Helen, launched their own private investigations and scoured the town for more victims. Eventually, other men came forward with stories of abuse by priests, probation officers, even a judge. The Dunlops claimed the Cornwall pedophile ring went back for decades. They were depicted as heroes in Chatelaine and, last month, in The Report magazine. CBC Radio aired other stories that left no doubt that something evil had happened in Cornwall.

Meantime, another loose cannon named Dick Nadeau cranked up a crackpot Web site full of wild conspiracy theories and lists of alleged perpetrators. Three of the many men accused in the past few years have killed themselves.

Why would any accuser (none of whom can be identified) level false allegations? An obvious answer is money. In the past decade, people claiming to have been abused as children by men in positions of power have won millions of dollars in civil settlements. Some of these claims were legitimate; many were not. A dozen men from Cornwall are currently suing the province for $4.8-million.

Jacques Leduc was the church's lawyer in 1992. For conspiracy theorists, that was proof enough; they believed he was at the heart of the cover-up. In 1998, he was arrested after two men claimed he'd assaulted them while they were teenagers doing casual jobs around his house. "I am not a man who is faint of heart," says Mr. Leduc. "But this was devastating."

His trial began in January. Then, last week, came a stunning revelation: The crusading cop's fingerprints were all over the case. The mother of a witness testified that Mr. Dunlop had told her the best way to bleed Mr. Leduc dry was through a civil action. After that, her son went after Mr. Leduc for $2-million. (In a different trial last year, a witness described how Mr. Dunlop had coached him to perjure himself.) What's more stunning, the Crown attorney knew of the Dunlop connection but concealed it.