Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

Sept. 21, 2001


OP/ED: HARRIS SHOULD RESIGN OVER FIRST NATIONS RECORD

If there's one thing I've learned from my years working at Queen's Park,
it's that nothing Premier Mike Harris says or does should shock me. But
Friday morning, the Premier managed to do just that.

Newly-released government documents paint a chilling picture of this
government's attitude toward First Nations people and communities across
Ontario.

Handwritten notes by several government officials released as part of a
civil lawsuit against the Conservative government, filed by the family of
slain Native protester Dudley George, appear to prove a shameful fact the
Premier has denied for years.

It would appear Mike Harris took leadership in the decisions that led to
the shooting death of George, an unarmed, peaceful protester occupying
sacred burial ground at Ipperwash Provincial Park on Sept. 6, 1995.

Here's what some of the documents say.

"(Premier's key aide Deb) Hutton: Premier will take lead."

"Premier . . . We don't want any (illegible) form of negotiations."

"Premier's office doesn't want to be seen to be working with Indians at all."

The newly-released government documents, when combined with documents
released earlier which indicate Harris was hawkish about ejecting peaceful
Native protesters from Ipperwash Provincial Park, fly in the face of the
Premier's claims he didn't interfere with the police operation which
resulted in George's death.

Here's what Harris told the NDP on May 29, 1996: "At no time - at no time
- was there any direction given by any political staff or any politicians
as to what the OPP should do or how they should carry out their job."
Again, on Aug. 18, 1997, Harris said: "I determined nothing. I gave no
direction. I gave no influence on it. We left that entirely to the OPP. I
assumed there would be negotiations."

Documents reveal just the opposite. The Premier did give direction. He did
interfere in the OPP operation, and quashed suggestions by members of the
police and his own government that peaceful negotiation was the best way to
resolve the situation.

It is a hallmark of our system of democracy that the police do not act
according to this politician's whims or that politician's whims. Ontario's
isn't a police state. The police must act according to the rule of law, not
according to the directions of a premier.

Why would the Premier directly intervene in the police operation that would
result in the death of a peaceful, Native man?

Consider this: "Premier's office doesn't want to be seen to be working with
Indians at all."

Reading that kind of statement makes any right-thinking person's jaw drop.

How can a provincial government willingly turn its back on First Nations?
And how can First Nations hope to improve their communities when you've got
a Liberal government in Ottawa that wants to gut the Indian Act and a
Premier of Ontario who doesn't "want to be seen to be working with Indians
at all"?

They can't. It's just not possible.

That why I joined NDP Leader Howard Hampton today to call for the Premier's
resignation. Harris intervened in a police operation that resulted in the
death of Dudley George. Apparently he misled the Legislature about it. And
now, it would also appear he doesn't consider First Nations and the
challenges they face worthy of a second of his attention.

My hope now is that the Premier shocks me again. For the good of First
Nations people and communities in Ontario, I hope he resigns.

- 30 -

Media inquiries: Jeff Ferrier (416) 325-9555/Gil Hardy (416) 325-7118/
Sheila White (416) 325-2503

September 21, 2001

HAMPTON TO HARRIS: "RESIGN OVER IPPERWASH INVOLVEMENT"

QUEEN'S PARK - Ontario's Premier should resign now that court documents
have revealed he took leadership in the decisions that led to the death of
Dudley George at Ipperwash Provincial Park, says NDP Leader Howard Hampton.

Government submissions contained in the documents indicate Mike Harris
would "take the lead" in deciding when the OPP moved on native protesters
in the park. At a Sept. 5, 1995 meeting, a senior Harris staffer reports
that the premier "did not want to be seen working with Indians at all" and
rejected the OPP's recommended cautious and conciliatory approach.

"These documents make it clear that Mr. Harris misled the Legislature about
his involvement in the Ipperwash tragedy. That's a serious breach of trust.
He should step down," Hampton said.

On May 29, 1996, Harris said in the Legislature: "At no time - at no time -
was there any direction given by any political staff or any politicians as
to what the OPP should do or how they should carry out their job." Harris
went on to say: "I clearly understand the role of the separation between
politicians and the police, and at no time did I give direction to staff to
give direction, or did any of my staff give direction, to the best of my
knowledge, to any member of the police, the OPP, at any level of any
category as to how they should carry out their job."

In light of the new information, Hampton asks: "Who should people believe
and trust? Mike Harris? Or material submitted by his government as
evidence in a court of law? Ontario has lost confidence in its premier.
He should heed the call and resign."

"In the six years since the shooting occurred, the NDP has repeatedly
sought to force the truth to surface," said Gilles Bisson, the party's
Aboriginal Issues Critic. The NDP has demanded a public inquiry from both
the provincial and federal governments and also asked the RCMP to
investigate George's fatal shooting.

The Dudley George Family is currently in court pursuing a wrongful death
suit against Harris, various Conservative ministers and senior staff members.


-30-

Media contact: Sheila White (416) 325-2503/ Gil Hardy (416) 325-7118/
Jeffrey Ferrier (416) 235-9555

For more on Ipperwash and Dudley George see
http://www.turtleisland.org/news/news-dudley.htm



Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

Canada's best online source for Aboriginal news and information. 500,000
hits a month . . . and growing!