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	Courville Gets Grilled Again By Trevor Pritchard Standard Freeholder April 26, 2008 http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1002733 Lawyers at the Cornwall Public Inquiry continued to press the former head of the Cornwall Police Services Board about how the public got information about their force during his tenure. From 1993 to 1996, city lawyer Leo Courville was the chair and one of three provincial appointees on the board, whose responsibility was to provide civilian oversight of the Cornwall police. At the time, the force was dealing with the fallout from the David Silmser investigation. Silmser had gone to police in December 1992 with sexual abuse allegations against Rev. Charles MacDonald and probation officer Ken Seguin. He would later accept a $32,000 settlement from the Alexandria-Cornwall Roman Catholic Diocese in exchange for not pressing charges against MacDonald. Former cop Perry Dunlop turned Silmser's file over to the Children's Aid Society shortly after police closed the case. In response, Dunlop was charged under the Police Services Act for going outside the chain of command. Those charges were dismissed in January 1995, but the province's police complaints commissioner appealed the ruling. Dunlop was completely exonerated at the appeal court level that November. Helen Daley, an attorney for the Citizens for Community Renewal, questioned Courville about whether the board did enough to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding Dunlop's exoneration. The "takeaway" message for the public, she suggested, seemed to be that city police - not the commissioner - had called for an appeal. "I knew there were attempts made by the service to disabuse the public of that," said Courville, adding that he recalled a press release on the matter. Courville had signed off on two other contentious press releases: one announcing the Silmser investigation would be probed by Ottawa officers, and a second claiming that probe had found no evidence of a cover-up. He told Daley the force and the board considered not releasing any information about the probe but ultimately dismissed the idea in an attempt to be "as transparent as possible." "The decision was made to ensure this went outside the police service," Courville said. "The option was always there not to do that." Neither MacDonald nor Seguin were ever convicted of any sex crimes. MacDonald was charged in 1996 by the OPP, but the charges were stayed six years later when a judge concluded they'd taken too long to come to trial. Seguin committed suicide in November 1993 and was never charged. During his tenure, Courville had also entered into a very public spat with then-Mayor Ron Martelle, a municipal representative on the police board. Courville testified Thursday that Martelle - an RCMP recruit - would often try to get involved with the day-to-day aspects of police work, something other board members didn't agree with. Daley took Courville through a number of newspaper articles that highlighted the clash. "This is the civilian oversight body meant to hold the police accountable," said Daley. "That isn't a good thing for the public's perception, is it?" While Courville regretted some parts of the dispute, he said it would have been a disservice to the community if he didn't oppose Martelle's actions in the media. "The public had a right to know what was going on on the police board," he said. Though Courville's cross-examination didn't wrap up Friday, it's expected a new police witness will take the stand when the inquiry resumes Monday morning. Due to scheduling issues, Courville will return at a later date.
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