Ipperwash final report to be released May 31

Canadian Press
April 28, 2007

TORONTO -- The inquiry into the police shooting death of aboriginal protester Dudley George will release its final report May 31.

Commissioner Sidney Linden, who since last August has reviewed the testimony of 139 witnesses heard over 25 months at the Ipperwash inquiry, made the announcement yesterday.

Mr. George, 38, was killed by a police sniper on Sept. 6, 1995, after provincial police officers marched on Ipperwash Provincial Park on the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario.

A key issue at the inquiry is what role, if any, alleged political interference from the Ontario government led by then-premier Mike Harris played in the police response to the native occupation.

Mr. Harris has acknowledged that he wanted the occupation brought to a quick end -- a sentiment he expressed during an informal government meeting held just hours before Mr. George was killed. Provincial police officers were in attendance at the meeting.

The inquiry's findings will be released to the public in the Southwestern Ontario town of Forest, where the inquiry was held.

Last August, Murray Klippenstein, lawyer for the George family, argued during final submissions that Mr. Harris's words filtered down to police on the scene at Ipperwash and influenced their actions.

Lawyers for Mr. Harris and the police have been adamant that political influence played no role in the killing.