And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 07:22:54 -0500
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Summons for Prime Mike Harris issued
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Harris is getting a summons
George family wants the Premier's answers on Ipperwash fracas
By Harold Levy and Caroline Mallan
Toronto Star Staff Reporters
Lawyers for the family of a slain Indian activist are to issue summonses
today to Premier Mike Harris, two cabinet ministers and members of the OPP
to appear for questioning in a lawsuit against them, The Star has learned.
The family of Anthony (Dudley) George is suing Harris, Attorney-General
Charles Harnick and Solicitor-General Bob Runciman, accusing them of
personally directing the Ontario Provincial Police to get tough with
Indians occupying Ipperwash Provincial Park near Sarnia in September, 1995.
George was shot dead by an OPP officer.
The politicians recently tried to have the family's lawsuit dismissed,
arguing the OPP officers were exercising their best professional judgment.
But Madam Justice Susan Lang of Ontario Court, general division, ruled on
March 3 they must remain in the lawsuit.
Their lawyers have said they plan to appeal the decision.
The first defendant to be questioned by the family's lawyers in the
examination for discovery will be OPP Acting Sergeant Kenneth Deane, who
was convicted of criminal negligence causing death for shooting George.
Deane has appealed his conviction.
Deane will be required to appear for questioning on May 12 and 13, sources
said.
An examination for discovery allows a lawyer to fully question a witness on
all relevant aspects of the case to prepare for the trial.
No dates have been set for questioning the politicians and other OPP
officers, sources said.
The family's lawyers want to question Harris in particular about any
instructions he may have given about removing the Indians from the park.
Meanwhile, a group seeking a public inquiry into George's slaying will head
back to the United Nations next week to press its case.
The group, which formed after the Sept. 6, 1995, death of George, 38, will
make its third pitch to the U.N. Human Rights Committee in an attempt to
have it pressure the Canadian government to investigate the matter.
Robin Buyers, a professor of community work at George Brown College and a
coalition volunteer, said the group thinks racism is playing a role in the
failure of the provincial and federal governments to make a move.
``It's very clear to me that the treatment of aboriginal people in Canada
and in Ontario is not equal to that of other citizens,'' Buyers said.
The delegation heading to New York says the government misled the U.N. when
it stated in a brief that the OPP officers were firing on armed Indians,
members of the Stoney Point band, who were occupying Ipperwash in a land
claim dispute.
No officers were shot in the confrontation after about 30 Indians occupied
the park at the end of tourist season, saying it contained a sacred burial
ground.
During Deane's trial, Judge Hugh Fraser of Ontario Court, provincial
division, found that Deane knew George was unarmed when he fired three
shots at him at close range.
Roger Obonsawin, a member of the Abenaki Nation and the editor of Anasazi,
a journal that analyzes aboriginal issues, said it is part of the duties of
the federal minister of Indian affairs to step in on their behalf.
``The minister of Indian affairs has a direct responsibility to ensure that
our rights are protected,'' Obonsawin told a news conference yesterday.
Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart's office has been given a copy of a
legal opinion prepared for the coalition that states it is within federal
powers to call an inquiry, even though court cases surrounding the shooting
are ongoing.
The coalition expects that the U.N. will announce within weeks that there
is basis for an inquiry, although no formal report on the case is expected
for at least a year.
"Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
1957 G.H. Estabrooks, Creator
of the Manchurian Candidate
born New Brunswick
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.aches-mc.org
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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