McGuinty told to withdraw statements

Hamilton Spectator
TORONTO (Jun 8, 2006)

[SISIS note: The following mainstream news article is provided for reference only, as an example of how mainstream media treats indigenous resistance to genocide. Mainstream media often presents biased and distorted information, lacking pertinent facts and/or context. Inclusion of this article on our site should not be considered an endorsement by SISIS.]

A lawyer for former Ontario premier Mike Harris is demanding Premier Dalton McGuinty withdraw recent statements he made about the previous government's role in the 1995 clash between police and aboriginals at Ipperwash Provincial Park.

Lawyer Peter Downard took issue with comments McGuinty made Tuesday about a different aboriginal crisis: the ongoing occupation by members of the Six Nations reserve of a tract of disputed land in Caledonia.

"The Conservatives prefer that we direct the police and that we send them out on some kind of police action," McGuinty said in the legislative chamber, where politicians are normally protected from legal action by parliamentary privilege.

In a statement released yesterday, Downard accused McGuinty of implying that Harris, who was premier in 1995, directed police in the clash 11 years ago that ultimately claimed the life of aboriginal protester Dudley George. An inquiry into the clash is ongoing. Harris testified earlier this year that he exerted no influence over the actions of police.