TORONTO - Opposition demands for a public inquiry into the staying of corruption charges against six members of the Toronto police force have not been accepted or rejected, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday as he left the door open to an independent review of the failed prosecution.
Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer stayed the charges last week, citing a lack of urgency on the part of the Crown in prosecuting the six members of the city's drug squad -- a case the judge described as moving at a "glacial'' pace.
The Conservatives and New Democrats have demanded an independent public inquiry, saying the Ministry of the Attorney General should not be investigating its own role in the failure of one of the highest profile corruption cases in Canadian history.
But McGuinty said Tuesday he would wait for Attorney General Chris Bentley's review of the case before deciding whether or not to hold a public inquiry.
"We're not ruling out a public inquiry. Not ruling that out. We're not ruling it in,'' McGuinty said. "I'm waiting for his recommendations.''
Bentley has said his legal staff are working around the clock, reviewing how the Crown handled the prosecution and also whether to appeal Nordheimer's ruling.
Both Bentley and McGuinty say there are long-standing problems with delays in criminal proceedings that the Liberals are developing plans to deal with, and insist other provinces are experiencing similar problems.
McGuinty also said the problem with lengthy court delays in Ontario is partly the result of his government's decision to pay for more police and Crown attorneys.
"I'm not sure of the extent of the backlog. I know that there continue to be challenges,'' he said.
"I think in some ways it's the natural outcome. When you put 1,000 more police on the streets, if you hire more prosecutors, we've expanded some of our courts, at some point in time there's you're going to create a challenge in terms of what's happening in our court system.''
But Conservative Leader John Tory said Tuesday that McGuinty should have known Ontario would need more courtrooms if it was hiring more police and prosecutors.
"This is just the kind of basic planning that Mr. McGuinty never does,'' said Tory. "It's incompetent government at its worst.''
Despite the delays and backlogs in the criminal courts, McGuinty said he thinks the original court decision that limits how long an accused must wait before trial in Canada was a good thing.
"I think it was a healthy development,'' he said. "We all need to find ways to accelerate the movement through our court system.''
Another Ontario man who had nine criminal charges stayed last October because he had spent 24 days in jail without a bail hearing is now the subject of a Canada-wide warrant.
Davood Zarinchang, 25, of Markham, Ont., is suspected in a violent home invasion on Jan. 27 in which a man was shot numerous times.
Tory said the case is further proof Ontario's justice system is in shambles and should be the subject of an inquiry.
"There's another story this morning about someone getting charges dropped because of a failure to have a bail hearing and now being the subject of a wanted poster,'' said Tory.
"This justice system is in deep trouble. It has gotten much worse on Mr. McGuinty's watch, and he's got to do something about it starting with getting to the root of the problem by having an inquiry.''
York Region police Chief Armand has also called for an inquiry into the Zarinchang case.
