Dudley George remembered

Page 1

As has happened each year since he was shot to death by Ontario Provincial Police Acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane in 1995, ceremonies marking Dudley George's birthday were conducted in various locations across Ontario on March 17.

It was the fourth time family members and others have participated in the annual demonstrations intended to remind the general public that justice has still not been done in this matter.

The days immediately before and after George's birthday saw a flurry of activity. On March 19, it was announced that Premier Mike Harris, Attorney General Charles Harnick, Solicitor General Bob Runciman, the former head of the OPP, Thomas O'Grady, and four OPP officers, would be called to be examined by George family lawyers who are pursuing the family's $7 million wrongful death lawsuit.

In London, Kitchener and Ottawa, family members, their supporters and others who, for a variety of reasons, are interested in keeping the pressure on government officials - at both the federal and provincial level - to dig deeper into the root causes of the events which led to George's death, gathered to keep the cause in the public eye.

During the day-long vigil in Ottawa on March 17, Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart made an appearance and was immediately presented with a copy of a legal opinion authored by Osgoode Hall law school associate professor Bruce Ryder that concludes the federal government has the legal power to call an inquiry. The Ontario government has refused to do so and Stewart has repeatedly said that it is a provincial matter that does not involve her department.

In London, Ont., more than 50 people (two-thirds of whom were non-Native) participated in a ceremony conducted on the rear parking lot of the Unitarian Fellowship building. After the Ojibway prayer circle ceremony, the people moved inside the church building for a feast.

During the ceremony that remembered a man who Amnesty International said was "extra judicially executed" by a police officer, the solemnity of the occasion was put to the test when traditional singers attracted the attention of a couple of young children who live in a nearby townhouse project. The young boys, who sounded about seven or eight years olds, began yelling "Hey, Indians."

After several attempts failed to get the attention of the prayer circle members, the children began firing their cap pistols, playing 'cowboys and Indians.'

Despite the immense irony of this distraction, the circle members kept their composure in a way that added even more dignity to the occasion.

At almost the same moment the memorials were being observed, Ontario social justice activists was in New York City doing the preliminary work in preparation for a March 26 appearance before the United Nations' Human Rights committee. The committee has agreed to hear a submission from the Coalition for a Public Inquiry into the Death of Dudley George. A 30-page brief filed on March 16 with the committee by the coalition alleges that eight articles of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights were violated at Ipperwash Park on the night in question. A five-person delegation will address the UN committee, which is preparing its official report (released every five years) on Canada's performance as a signatory to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Ethel LaValley, the first Aboriginal woman elected as an officer of the Ontario Federation of Labor, Roger Obonsawin, an Abenaki treaty rights activist, Darlene Ritchie, the former chief of the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation, Robin Buyers, a professor of community work at Toronto's George Brown College, and Ann Pohl, a member of the Turtle Island Support Group, will attend the UN hearing. They will ask the committee to urge the federal government to call a public inquiry into the shooting of Dudley George.

Organizers of the London memorial service say invitations were extended to the OPP, the RCMP and local police services. None of thse groups atended. No provincial government representatives attended, either.

With an election said to be on the horizon in Ontario, two NDP candidates attended the service. Jim Lee, the NDP candidate who will run against Tory Marcel Beaubien in the riding that includes Ipperwash Provincial Park, was critical of Beaubien for not attending the service. Beaubien has been accused of playing a role in the shooting of Dudley George because police logs show he was at the OPP command post prior to the decision to send in the tactical unit against the unarmed protesters. Lee said his party will make the conduct of the government during the Ipperwash confrontation an election issue. He also promised unequivocally that his party will call a full public inquiry, if elected.

The Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops has joined the long list of organizations that are publicly urging Premier Harris to call an inquiry. In a letter acquired by Windspeaker, dated Nov. 23, 1998, the Most Reverend John M. Sherlock, Bishop of London, urged the Ontario government to call an inquiry.

Bishop Sherlock told the premier the Social Affairs Commission of the conference of bishops had studied the incident closely before acting.

"Their study of the issue has led them to appreciate its complexity," the bishop wrote. "It has also left them profoundly disturbed, particularly by their perception that little has been done to learn from the events. A man was killed. When a similar incident took place at Oka in Quebec, an inquest was held."

The letter was not released to the public until several months after it was sent to the premier. In a press release on Feb. 10, the Catholic bishops explained why they were going public.

"The commission has tried to bring these concerns to the attention of the provincial government. The attached (Nov. 23) letter is an example of the attempt to do so. However, these efforts have, it appears, been completely ignored. This letter is being released at this tim because it has ot even been acknowledged," conference of bishops general secretary Tom Reilly wrote.

Deane will be the first examinee when the George family lawyers begin the pre-trial examination process. He has been summoned to appear at the offices of Toronto law firm Atchison and Denman on May 12 and 13. Other OPP officers are scheduled to appear through June and July. Runciman is expected to appear on Sept. 8 and 9; Harnick on Oct. 6 and 7. Premier Harris is scheduled for examination on Dec. 8 and 9.

Under civil law, if any person fails to attend once summoned, that person loses by default.