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	Fear, Suspicion - and Mistakes at Every Turn By Kirk Makin Globe and Mail December 16, 2009 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/fear-suspicion---and-mistakes-at-every-turn/article1402005/ Canada -- Unsparing in its criticism and employing encyclopedic detail, the Cornwall Public Inquiry Report charted an ill-fated investigation that made mistakes at every turn. Commissioner G. Normand Glaude found that virtually every institution touched by reports of pedophilic abuse - police, prosecutors, clergy, school boards and child-welfare authorities - failed to respond adequately. But he reserved particular scorn for the Ontario Provincial Police and the local Cornwall police, whose disorganization led to a climate of suspicion, rumour and fear within the very community they were intended to reassure. Judge Glaude said that the OPP probe, called Project Truth, was ill-focused and failed to follow up serious allegations swiftly and efficiently. Had it done a more thorough investigation, he said that it might have result in conspiracy charges being laid against pedophiles. "Although the justice system does not measure success in terms of the number of convictions, I am troubled by the relatively small numbers of these cases that were brought to a full trial on the merits," he said. Judge Glaude condemned the Cornwall police for not keeping victims apprised of the progress of investigations; not providing counselling to victims; and failing to use all the evidence at their disposal. The report also targeted: The Cornwall probation office, where two probation officers who had likely been abusing youths under their supervision for years went undetected. He pointed to office rivalries and a reluctance to risk the two men filing grievances. Senior clergy of the Catholic church failed to inquire into the background of priests with a history of sexual misconduct who moved in and out of the diocese, leaving behind a trail of victims. The Children's Aid Society, where patterns of sexual abuse went undetected because files detailing complainants and incidents of abuse were inadequately cross-referenced. The Ministry of the Attorney-General allowed multiple prosecutions to bog down while it struggled to vet documents for disclosure to the defence. However, in a rare expression of praise, the report exonerated a prosecutor whose career had been seriously damaged by the actions of now-retired OPP officer Pat Hall. Judge Glaude said that the officer caused Shelley Hallett to be yanked off the Cornwall prosecution team after he misconstrued her actions, unfairly maligned her motives and acted unprofessionally by going over Ms. Hallett's head and disclosing material to the defence. In fact, Judge Glaude said, Ms. Hallett was a "dedicated and competent professional whose compassion and expertise in dealing with alleged victims of current and historical sexual abuse made her an asset to the Project Truth team."
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