Harris sues Globe and Mail over Ipperwash story

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The recently departed premier of Ontario, Mike Harris, filed a statement of claim alleging libel against Bell Globemedia Publishing, Inc., the corporate owner of the Globe and Mail on Feb. 15.

Harris is asking the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to award him $15 million in damages, saying five sentences in a Dec. 14 story contained "false and defamatory" information.

Harris' lawsuit, if it is followed up on, is a sign that he will fight back against media reports that he played a personal role in the death of Dudley George. The Native land claim protester was shot dead by Acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane of the Ontario Provincial Police in 1995 at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Deane was later convicted of criminal negligence causing death with trial judge Hugh Fraser ruling he and other police officers concocted a story after the shooting and lied to the court in an attempt to escape prosecution.

The allegations in the statement of claim must be proven in court.

It alleges that the Globe and Mail story states as fact that Harris gave orders for a paramilitary police action against the protesters-Harris has continually denied this-and further states that he resigned as premier because this alleged error had tainted his reputation.

The defendants have not yet filed a statement of defense with the court, but they have said they stand by their story and will defend against the lawsuit.

The Toronto Star has published stories dealing with accounts of lost data related to government meetings over the Ipperwash occupation that eventually led to the shooting. A government committee met the night before the shooting and documents reveal that Harris told the representatives of the police and various provincial ministries that he "wanted the Indians out, nothing else." The Star was not named in the lawsuit.