TORONTO - A public inquiry in eastern Ontario examining institutional responses to sex abuse allegations has been granted more time to complete its report.
The three-year, nearly $50-million Cornwall inquiry heard much testimony about allegations that a pedophile clan operated and public officials covered it up.
Testimony wrapped in late February and the report was due July 31, but the commission requested an extension until late fall to allow for editing, translating and typesetting.
Today, the Ontario government announced it has granted a final extension of time and says it looks forward to receiving the report by Oct. 15.
The inquiry was established in 2005.
When it was still plugging away in October 2008, the provincial government stepped in and set an end date.
Many of the closing submissions focused on urging Commissioner G. Normand Glaude to finally debunk the pedophile clan theory years after rumours spread through the community.
Many suggest the blame for the sensational story, of which provincial police found no evidence, could be placed on former Cornwall police officer Perry Dunlop.
The province pegs the cost of the inquiry at about $45.2 million, as of March 31. That does not include a special assistance grant of $3.2 million the province provided to Cornwall in February 2007 to help the city with costs arising from the inquiry.
