The long-running inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse in Cornwall has been told to wrap it up and file a final report by next July.

The inquiry is looking into how authorities responded to a rash of allegations that children were being abused in Cornwall starting in the late 1950s and continuing for decades.

On Wednesday night, commissioner Normand Glaude received an amended schedule from the provincial government.

The new schedule calls for Glaude to finish hearing evidence by the end of January 2009, and hear all closing submissions by the end of February.

The inquiry was called in 2005, and the first witness was heard in February 2006. Since then, 146 people have taken the stand, some of whom were hostile to the inquiry, some who have yet to complete their testimony.

Organizations yet to testify include the Ontario Provincial Police, who have somewhere between 30 and 50 witnesses to go through.

"I intend to do everything I can to meet the timelines established," Glaude said in a statement Thursday.

While he said the deadlines roughly matched the timeline he had laid out for the "evidentiary hearings," the commissioner added that the second phase of the inquiry, which deals with healing and reconciliation, will be affected.

"We will do our best to reorganize activities to the extent possible," Glaude said of the programs, which include research, an advisory panel and public meetings.

Counselling support will continue for up to 90 days past the Jan. 30 deadline.

Earlier deadlines for the hearings, submissions and final report had been set by the government, but were pushed back 30 days after consultation with Glaude, said Attorney General Chris Bentley.

"I think it's important the people of Ontario get the information and the advice as quickly as possible so that we can put the advice to good use," Bentley said in Toronto.

"We formalized the dates and then, after discussions with the commissioner, extended the dates by a month to make sure that we got the best possible advice."

With files from the Canadian Press