Government launches internal review of Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh case

OTTAWA – The federal government says it will conduct an internal review of its involvement in the case of Ernest Fenwick MacIntosh.

But the Cape Breton man’s lawyer says a public inquiry is really what is needed.

Brian Casey represents MacIntosh, a former businessman who had 17 sexual abuse convictions thrown out when the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruled that his case took too long to get to trial.

The Supreme Court of Canada upheld that decision earlier this year, saying the 14-year delay was unreasonable.

Casey says other internal reviews have been completed — one by the RCMP and another by Nova Scotia’s Public Prosecution Service — but plenty of questions still remain.

MacIntosh was in India working as a consultant when the sex abuse allegations first surfaced in Nova Scotia in 1995, but he wasn’t extradited to Canada until 2007 and his first trial didn’t start until 2010.

Federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay says the review, to be conducted by his department, would look into the extradition process and issues surrounding passport and border control.

MacKay says the review’s findings will be made public by the end of October.