A public inquiry into sexual abuse allegations in Cornwall, Ont., will continue into the fall instead of wrapping up in July, thanks mainly to delays caused by institutions such as police and Ontario government ministries, says the judge presiding over the hearings.

Commissioner Normand Glaude announced the extension Monday while providing an update on a number of issues related to the Cornwall Public Inquiry, which is looking at how public institutions responded to allegations of sexual abuse made over decades against dozens of people in positions of authority, including priests and parole officers.

Glaude mainly blamed the Cornwall police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Corrections, the local Catholic diocese and other institutions for slowing the proceedings by challenging his authority on a regular basis. Many of them have gone to court to overrule Glaude's decisions, resulting in lengthy proceedings in those courts.

Delays were also caused by former Cornwall police officer Perry Dunlop's contempt of court hearings, snowstorms, extra submissions and witnesses being ill, Glaude said.

In order to speed things up, he added, the inquiry will try to hear more than one witness a day, ask lawyers not to duplicate questions, and sit for longer days.

The inquiry opened on Feb. 13, 2006, and has cost taxpayers more than $25 million so far.

Lead counsel Peter Engelmann argued Monday that the inquiry is dealing with an important problem and "it's very difficult to put a dollar-value on a serious social problem."

He added, "We're dealing with a broad mandate, so I think that for people to think … that it wasn't going to take time and cost money, that was an unrealistic expectation."

Engelmann said the commission will wrap the hearings later in the year and provide some recommendations for how to deal with similar situations in future.