Commissioner vows to stick to timeline
Lawyer’s application would have blown schedule, budget and risked results: Barry
The inquiry into the death of Donald Dunphy will not run long or end in astronomical cost to the provincial treasury — not if Commissioner Leo Barry has anything to say about it.
And on Tuesday morning, he had plenty to say following a notice of application by lawyer Nick Avis for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, which Barry said would have resulted in significant delay and legal wrangling adding to the ultimate damage to the public coffers.
Avis was seeking disclosure of communications between the counsel for the inquiry and expert witnesses, but withdrew in the wake of comments and questions from the commissioner.
In asking about the application, Barry did not hold back on what he believed it represented in terms of the cost, the timeline and the tone of proceedings.
The RNC and its counsel have been co-operative to date, he said, but with this “amazing” move, he believed that position would change.
“I see that notice — whether intentional or not — as being a significant break from that cooperative attitude,” he said.
“Frankly, I am surprised, to say it mildly.”
He warned of significant delay to his final report examining the shooting death of Dunphy at his home by RNC Const. Joe Smyth in April 2015.
The inquiry is tasked with making recommendations relating to police procedure, as well as establishing the facts of the day.
Avis said he did not have any intention of causing undue cost or delay, and asked for time to consider Barry’s remarks.
Barry pushed back on both the application and the timeline for responses.
“You’d have to be deaf, blind and lame, Mr. Avis, to not appreciate this will result in delay,” he said.
Avis suggested he would consider an amendment as proceedings continued with the questioning of RNC Chief Bill Janes, but Barry told him he wanted an immediate response.
Barry called out both Avis and Smyth’s lawyer, Jerome Kennedy, saying he has taken them both to be suggesting that the inquiry counsel were lacking in objectivity, given questioning and the proposed application for disclosure.
“This is not a minor issue. This is a major concern to myself as commissioner,” Barry said.
Kennedy was not there for the initial exchange, but his associate, Amanda Bais, said he would be present in the afternoon.
In a break to allow for private discussions, Kennedy arrived — earlier than originally expected — and when the inquiry resumed, he addressed the application, echoing Avis by saying there was no intention to unduly delay the inquiry.
“We are not attempting to slow the hearing down,” Kennedy said, even after Avis withdrew the submission.
Barry spoke to reporters following the session, explaining he wants inquiry staff to remain entirely focused on eliciting information required to develop his final report.
As for whether or not a commissioner should be worried about the overall cost of the inquiry, Barry said his review of past inquiries has made him aware of what it might mean — referring to a federal inquiry abandoned due to unexpected costs and delays.