HE CAME ACROSS AS A VERY SINCERE, RELIGIOUS INDIVIDUAL;
DR. JAMES CAIRNS TO THE GOUDGE INQUIRY.
One of the most telling moments thus far at the inquiry occurred yesterday (Tuesday) when Justice Goudge asked Dr. Cairns whether there could be an effective peer review, "of the icon in the field."
The following exchange ensued:
DR. CAIRNS: I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's -- it's very difficult when you get to icon status to -- to take people down from that icon status.
COMMISSIONER STEPHEN GOUDGE: Given all you know over the last fifteen (15) years about Dr. Smith's flaws, what is your explanation for how he
maintained that iconic status so long?
DR. CAIRNS: I don't have a good one. I -- I'll say this, and it -- it may be unfair. He came across as a very sincere, religious individual. And perhaps people put -- sorry, I put too much emphasis on his religious aspect. I should know better, I'm from Northern Ireland, but that's beside the point...
"I felt that his religious aspect made it unlikely that he wasn't telling the truth."
Dr. Cairns reverence towards Charles Smith was captured in the pivotal Macleans Magazine article entitles, "Dead Wrong: How the faulty findings of an eminent pathologist led to erroneous charges and ruined lives," published on May 14, 2001;
"Cairns, who has worked closely with Smith for a decade, calls him "a wonderful asset" in the investigation of child deaths.
"He's a friend. I admire his work and he is greatly admired at the Hospital for Sick Children," Cairns told Maclean's.
"He's done a tremendous amount of good over the years. His sincerity is beyond reproach."
Smith himself did not respond to numerous interview requests from Maclean's.
Cairns said the recent controversies have taken a toll on Smith.
"He's not one of these Teflon people who says I don't give a damn what people say," said Cairns.
He noted that his colleague had been involved in many successful legal cases..."
Dr. Cairns relationship with Charles Smith - in the context of the Maclean's article - came up in yesterday's evidence.
As reported by Globe and Mail reporter Kirk Makin, in a story headed, "Deputy Chief Coroner stood behind Smith's "strange" actions:
"Dr. Cairns also testified that he had no social relationship with Dr. Smith, only to be confronted with a quote from an unpublished 2001 media interview in which he described Dr. Smith as a personal friend.
How could Dr. Cairns purport to review his work objectively? Ms. Rothstein asked.
"It not only should have disqualified me, it probably should have disqualified the whole office," Dr. Cairns said."O'Hara also delves into the religious facets of Dr. Smith's life.
"Most Sundays, Smith is a pillar of another community," she writes.
"He is an elder in a newly formed evangelical congregation that meets in a high-school auditorium in Richmond Hill, 30 km north of Toronto.
Two years ago, Smith and his wife, Karen -- a family doctor and part-time coroner in nearby Aurora -- left their old parish and volunteered to help start this satellite church as part of their mission to bring new converts to the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
It's a Christian denomination that emphasizes "world evangelization" and boasts 2.5 million followers in 40 countries.
While Charles Smith chats with churchgoers after the service, Karen sells audiotapes of the pastor's sermon."
In a Curriculum Vitae prepared for use in court, Dr. Smith lists the following entries under the heading, "other community activities," and the sub-heading, "Registered charitable organizations":
Member of Board of Elders of Bayview Glen Church (1981 - 1994);
Member of Board of Directors of Missionary Health Institute (1982 - );
This humble Blogster finds it somewhat strange that a C.V. prepared for use in court - in the context of the expert qualification process - would list religious affiliations.
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