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	Project Truth Inquiry Judge Unloads on Lawyer Ottawa Sun [Canada] April 27, 2007 http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/04/27/4134777.html Cornwall — A judge berated a lawyer representing victims at an inquiry probing the institutional response to allegations of systemic sexual abuse in the Cornwall area for not ensuring affidavits filed with the commission were accurate. Commissioner Normand Glaude told Dallas Lee he wasn't interested in hearing excuses for why a number of victim-sworn affidavits contain errors. "We are dealing with a law firm that purports to act in the best interests of these people, and we have people that are swearing affidavits," Glaude said Thursday. "I want ... to bring home to your clients and to your firm that this type of thing cannot happen again." Last month, errors were identified in at least two affidavits filed with the inquiry on behalf of members of the Victims Group, who are represented at the inquiry by lawyers from the London, Ont.-based law firm Ledroit Beckett. In one case, the affidavit incorrectly named a priest as a perpetrator of abuse when no such allegation had been made. A second affidavit contained inaccurate statements regarding the individual's take on the response of some public institutions to his allegations of abuse. On Thursday, Lee said three lawyers and two clerks with Ledroit Beckett have been identifying any further errors in the affidavits since the day after Glaude ordered a review of the documents within 30 days from March 28. Lee said out of 45 affidavits filed when the group sought standing and funding in the fall of 2005, 37 have been reviewed. Of the eight outstanding affidavits, one individual is no longer being represented by Ledroit Beckett, and notice will be sent to the person's new counsel to have the original affidavit reviewed. The remaining seven individuals are proving difficult to contact, Lee said. "We have made efforts consisting of at least, in all seven cases, two letters enclosing the affidavit and asking them to contact us and a minimum of three telephone calls to each," Lee said. "We have not heard back from any of them." Lee said factual errors have been found in further affidavits, but in his opinion, they do not approach the seriousness of the errors previously identified. Glaude said the responsibility for ensuring the affidavits are entirely correct ultimately rests with the law firm, and he ordered Lee to provide the inquiry with supplementary affidavits containing corrections as soon as possible.
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