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Opinions and Views: Mike Harris on the stand
Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Mike Harris, the former premier of Ontario, was the biggest witness at the inquiry into the death of Ojibwe protester Dudley George but the news media says his testimony, while combative and explosive, did little to explain the tragedy.

Harris spent four days on the stand. Christina Blizzard of The Toronto Sun says the best fireworks came on Monday, when Harris was accused of lying by a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto.

"No doubt about it, Canada should collectively hang its head in shame over the way we treat our aboriginal people," Blizzard writes. "But you got the feeling that these lawyers wanted to turn Harris into a lightning rod for 500 years of neglect of our Native population. Why? Because he was rude and used the f-word."

The Toronto Star says Harris' testimony was "anti-climatic at best" because it shed little light on the Ipperwash scandal. But the paper says there was value to Harris' appearance before the inquiry.

"Ultimately, we may never know exactly what happened at Ipperwash," the paper says. "But the inquiry has proved beneficial in that elected and unelected officials, starting with the premier, have been called to account in a public forum for their actions during one of the most troubling events in recent history in this province."

Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom says key questions will remain unanswered despite the inquiry. "After three days of testimony by former premier Mike Harris, there is still no explanation as to why Indian protestor Dudley George was shot dead by police 10 1/2 years ago," he writes.

Larry Cornies of The London Free Press says Harris' testimony wasn't comforting to members of George's family, who were seeking answers to his death. "Proceedings won't wrap up for a few weeks yet, but the George family may have to look to [the inquiry's] report, expected in the fall, for whatever closure this protracted process might yield," he writes.

Get the Story:
Christina Blizzard: Lightning-fast round (The Toronto Sun 2/21)
Editorial: Harris sheds little light (The Toronto Star 2/21)
Murray Campbell: Harris factor could cut both ways for Tory (The Globe and Mail 2/20)
Thomas Walkom: Ipperwash tragedy still unexplained (The Globe and Mail 2/18)
Larry Cornies: Fog still shrouds killing of George (The London Free Press 2/18)

Relevant Links:
Ipperwash Inquiry - http://www.ipperwashinquiry.ca
Who Killed Dudley George - http://www.whokilleddudleygeorge.ca
Dudley George and Ipperwash, CBC News - http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/ipperwash
Dudley George information - http://www.turtleisland.org/news/news-dudley.htm