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	Inquiry Costs Hit $1.7 Million By Kevin Lajoie Standard-Freeholder February 4, 2010 http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2432893 CANADA -- The Cornwall Public Inquiry has drained $1.7 million from the city's working reserves, and officials are hoping to recoup the funds from Queen's Park. However, with the provincial government facing a massive deficit of its own, there may not be any cash in the well. Members of the Cornwall police services board approved the last legal bill for the inquiry on Wednesday, bringing the city's total tally to roughly $1.7 million. The full cost of the Cornwall police service's involvement at the inquiry was about $8.7 million. The costs prior to April 1, 2007, were covered by a onetime grant of $3.2 million from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and the costs since then--about $5.5 million -- have been shared on a 68/32 split between the Ministry of the Attorney General ($3.8 million) and the city ($1.7 million). Mayor Bob Kilger said he'll likely be approaching provincial officials to see if they would consider funding the remaining amount. The issue will be discussed by city council at its meeting on Monday night. "You're always hopeful," said Kilger when asked about the city's chances of securing the cash. Coun. Denis Carr thinks the city should at least try to secure funding for the $1.7 million that was taken out of reserves to cover the inquiry expenses. "I think we have a good case," said Carr, who chairs the city's budget committee. "If we get it back, it's a bonus." As it stands now, the city's unrestricted working reserves sit at around $1.8 million -- not much for a corporation with a $148-million budget and numerous facilities and assets under its care. During his annual city audit presentation last June, Ross Markell of Craig Keen Despatie Markell suggested the city's working reserves were on the low end, and they should actually be in the $4 million to $5 million range. According to Ministry of the Attorney General spokesperson Brendan Crawley, the total cost of the inquiry up to the end of November was $48,834,917. The figure includes $27.5 million in "direct costs" related to the inquiry's Cornwall office. Of that, $3.4 million went towards counselling and $318,656 was spent on travel expenses related to counselling, Crawley stated. Another $21 million went towards legal fees for parties with standing, and a further $308,054 was spent by the Crown law office on civil and legal expenses related to the inquiry. "We will know the final cost once all fees and transactions have been accounted, but we estimate that the final total will be approximately $50 million," Crawley wrote in an e-mail.
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