Ipperwash inquiry submits its final report to the Ontario government
From the Executive Summary ....
Aboriginal protests and occupations occur throughout the province, often with little warning, and no one can predict where they will occur. The fundamental conditions and catalysts that spark such protests continue to exist in Ontario, more than a decade after Ipperwash. However, my analysis has convinced me that Aboriginal occupations and protests are not inevitable, nor are they inevitably violent.
The provincial government and other institutions must redouble their efforts to build successful, peaceful relations with Aboriginal peoples in Ontario so that we can all live together peacefully and productively. There have been significant, constructive changes in the law and to key public institutions in the twelve years since Ipperwash. Yet more is needed. ...
Click here for the full report web site ...
Volume 1. Investigation and Findings
Volume 2. Poilicy Analysis
Volume 3. Inquiry Process
Volume 4. Executive Summary
Government To Respond To Report Today
TORONTO, May 31 - The Ontario government has received the final report of the Ipperwash Inquiry, Attorney General Michael Bryant announced today.
"On behalf of the McGuinty government, I would like to thank Justice Sidney Linden and the staff at the Ipperwash Inquiry for their dedicated efforts in conducting this important review," said Bryant. "The report is the result of more than three years of hard work, which, as promised, is immediately being made available to the public."
In November 2003, Attorney General Michael Bryant asked Justice Linden to conduct a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the 1995 death of Dudley George, who was shot by an Ontario Provincial Police officer during a First Nations protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Justice Linden was also asked to make recommendations about how to prevent similar events from occurring in the future.
The Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Monte Kwinter, and the Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, David Ramsay, will be in Forest, Ontario to provide a preliminary response to the report following Justice Linden's news conference.
"This has been an historic and profoundly important commission," said Bryant "We had an excellent commissioner who produced an extremely detailed report that will help us learn from the past and promote peaceful resolutions in the future."
The report is posted on the Ipperwash Inquiry's website at www.ipperwashinquiry.ca. The ministry has also posted a link on its website at www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca. Printed copies are available through the Publications Ontario bookstore, 880 Bay Street, Toronto, 1-800-668-9938, www.publications.gov.on.ca.
For further information: Greg Crone, Ministry of the Attorney General, Minister's Office, (416) 326-1785; Brendan Crawley, Ministry of the Attorney General, Communications Branch, (416) 326-2210