The provincial inquiry probing the police shooting death of aboriginal protester Dudley George will release its final report on May 31 in Forest, Ont.

Commissioner Sidney Linden, who has reviewed the testimony of 139 witnesses heard over 25 months, made the announcement Friday.

The inquiry looked into the events leading up to death of Dudley George, shown here in a 1993 photo.
(Canadian Press)

George, 38, was killed by a police sniper on Sept. 6, 1995 after Ontario Provincial Police marched on Ipperwash Provincial Park on the shores of Lake Huron.

A key issue at the inquiry is whether alleged political interference from then-Ontario premier Mike Harris played in the police response to the occupation.

Harris, by his own admission, wanted the occupation brought to a quick end — a sentiment he expressed during an informal government meeting held just hours before George was killed.

Provincial police officers were in attendance at the meeting.

Last August, the George family's lawyer, Murray Klippenstein, argued during final submissions that Harris's words filtered down to police on the scene at Ipperwash and influenced their actions.

Lawyers for Harris and the police have insisted that political influence played no role in the tragedy.

The inquiry was held in Forest, a southwestern Ontario town just kilometres from the scene of the shooting.