Ontario set to give up Ipperwash

The Ontario government is poised to take the final legislative step in relinquishing control of Ipperwash Provincial Park and putting it in aboriginal hands.

The Canadian Press has learned that Natural Resources Minister Linda Jeffrey will introduce a motion Monday to convert the park to Crown land.

If approved, the motion would pave the way for the 40 hectares along the shores of Lake Huron to be transferred to the federal government, which has the power to add it to the existing reserve.

The province has long promised to transfer the land to the First Nation — a key recommendation of the public inquiry into the death of native protester Dudley George. George was shot in the park by police during a confrontation over the disputed land in 1995.

The actual handover of the park is still years away, but provincial officials say once the land becomes part of the reserve, the First Nation will have complete control over its use.