Expect no apology from Harris despite family's request, lawyer says

By TOBI COHEN
The Canadian Press

FOREST, Ont. — There's no need for former premier Mike Harris to apologize for the 12-year-old shooting death of an aboriginal protester at Ipperwash Provincial Park, his lawyer said Thursday following the release of a scathing report into the bungled handling of the park's occupation.

Despite calls for an apology from the family of Dudley George, who was gunned down by an Ontario Provincial Police officer during a heated confrontation Sept. 6, 1995, Peter Downard said Commissioner Sidney Linden made it clear in his report that ``no apology is required.''

``The death of Dudley George is a regrettable tragedy, but as far as Mr. Harris is concerned this commission has found. . . that there's no evidence to suggest that either premier Harris or any member of his government is responsible for the death of Dudley George,'' Downard said.

While Linden concluded Harris did in fact utter a racial slur in which he indicated he wanted the matter resolved quickly, the commissioner said there's no evidence the statement influenced the actions of police officers.

``(The commissioner) made it very, very clear that Mr. Harris had no influence on those actions and that Mr. Harris did not cause that death,'' Downard said.

``That shows that Mr. Harris had been cleared by charges made by politicians for many years, including by Premier (Dalton) McGuinty when this inquiry was ongoing. We now know that those allegations were unfounded and wrong and they should be seen for the political smear that they were.''

Dudley George's brother Sam said his family nonetheless holds Harris ``partially responsible'' for his unarmed brother's death given the haste with which he approached the situation and suggested it ``might be appropriate'' for him to personally apologize to the George family.

``I would ask him to apologize to my brothers and sisters. That's what I would ask Mike Harris,'' he told reporters. ``Maybe that is not too much to ask.''

Harris did not return calls but issued a written statement in which he characterized the inquiry report as ``completely absolving me and my government of these malicious and petty political allegations.''

He said he hoped the findings would allow the George family to move on and allow all levels of government to work co operatively toward a better future for aboriginal people in Canada.

Downard said just because he's out of public life, it doesn't mean Harris does not support the policy goals of the commissioner's report. He said the former premier recognizes the need to find ``constructive ways'' to advance the issues of all the parties involved given the ongoing tension over land claims like the one in Caledonia, Ont. where a group of aboriginals has been occupying a former housing development for the last 15 months.

Julian Falconer, a Toronto-based lawyer representing First Nations, called the inquiry's conclusions on Harris's personal involvement in the matter — namely the racial slur he made during a meeting hours before George was shot — ``unprecedented'' and of ``historical'' significance.

Contrary to testimony from former attorney general Charles Harnick, Harris claimed under oath he never said ``I want the fucking Indians out of the park'' during what's become known as the ``diningroom meeting.''

``It is unprecedented that I know of for a commissioner to actually reject evidence under oath by a then-premier,'' Falconer said. ``It is a damning indictment to have misled the people. . . The commission has spoken and certainly in my view this is absolutely historic.''

Ontario Opposition Leader John Tory said in a statement that his Conservative party supports the governing Liberals' apology to the George family and that he hopes the report will bring them closure.

Tory said it's clear from the report that governments need to ``do a better job'' when it comes to dealing with the aboriginal community and land claims disputes in order to prevent a similar incident in the future.

``The goal for all political and aboriginal leaders coming out of this report must be to turn the corner on aboriginal relations in a productive and compassionate manner,'' he said.