In this month's video editorial, Canadian Lawyer editor Gail Cohen discusses whether calls for public inquiries into issues related to last month's G20 meeting in Toronto are really a good idea.

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Public inquiries are back en vogue. From the Gomery inquiry, to the Cornwall inquiry, to the Arar commission, and the Iacobucci inquiry into the cases of three Arab-Canadians who were imprisoned in Syria, and of course the one into the use of Taser stun guns by the RCMP that resulted in the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, public inquiries have popped up all over the place.

Since the appointment of Lord Durham in 1840, commissions of inquiry have had a central role in Canadian public affairs. They have been used to develop policy in areas like medicare, bilingualism, and free trade.