Judge To Lead Elliot Lake Inquiry
Posted Jul 9, 2012 07:11:31 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ontario’s Attorney General says the judge tapped to head up a public inquiry into a mall collapse in Elliot Lake was chosen in part for his language skills.
John Gerretsen says Justice Paul Belanger is fluent in both official languages.
He says that was a key consideration when deciding who would be hearing testimony from members of the bilingual community.
Gerretsen says Belanger was also chosen for his more than 30-year career as a judge in Ottawa and his reputation as a well-respected member of the legal community.
Belanger will lead the inquiry into the collapse of the Algo Centre Mall, which killed two local women and injured more than 20 other people.
Cabinet is still determining the scope of the inquiry, but Gerretsen told 570’s Jeff Allan Show it will examine what led up to the tragedy as well as the emergency response systems that took effect in the days after the collapse.
Belanger will have to present his findings publicly a year after the start of the inquiry.
Gerretsen says it’s slated to begin in the next two months.
