A high-profile public inquiry concerning sexual abuse allegations in an eastern Ontario community has heard its final witness — almost three years after it began.

The Cornwall Public Inquiry was scheduled to wrap up after hearing from Murray Segal, Ontario's deputy attorney general, who testified Thursday afternoon.

He was the last of about 170 witnesses who have taken the stand since the inquiry began on Feb. 13, 2006. It was launched in order to examine how public institutions responded to dozens of allegations of sexual abuse in the community made over decades.

The 15 parties with standing in the inquiry were expected to return in February to put forward their final oral and written submissions, said inquiry spokeswoman Joan Weinman.

Commissioner Normand Glaude, a regional senior judge for the northeast region of Ontario, is expected to issue a report to the province of Ontario at the end of July containing recommendations based on the testimony.

The allegations of abuse, which span decades starting in the 1950s, were investigated in high-profile police operations, including one dubbed Project Truth.

That investigation yielded over 100 charges against more than a dozen men but resulted in only a handful of convictions. The investigation found no evidence to support rumours that a pedophile ring was operating in the community.

Since the inquiry opened, it has been criticized for delays and the aggressive way some witnesses were allegedly cross examined.

One key witness, Perry Dunlop, a former Cornwall police officer, was convicted of civil and criminal counts of contempt of court and served jail time after refusing to testify before the inquiry.