TORONTO — The brother of a native protester shot dead by police during a protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park a decade ago wants to shut down the year-old public inquiry into the shooting on the grounds it has no legitimacy.

Pierre George, who drove his brother Dudley George from the park to hospital in a futile attempt to save his life on the fateful night of Sept. 6, 1995, also argues in court documents that the inquiry aids and abets "treason and fraud . . . and genocide."

The legal challenge, which several observers privately said has little chance of success, takes direct aim at Sidney Linden, the judge heading the inquiry, whom George accuses of acting like "the Great White Father."

Linden, he argues in the court filing, has "criminal liability for wilful blindness" to the Constitution.

In an interview, commission co-council Susan Vella called the challenge "unfortunate."

"We'll certainly resist the claim that the commissioner lacks jurisdiction because this is a traditional territory and therefore the laws of Ontario and Canada don't apply," said Vella.

"The act of a public investigation into the shooting death of an aboriginal person is not an act of aiding or abetting genocide - hopefully, it's the opposite."

Last month, Linden rejected a request from George to stay the proceedings.

He noted that George sought and was granted standing at the inquiry, which was an implicit acknowledgement of its jurisdiction.

Pierre George could not be reached for comment, although his brother Sam, who supports the inquiry, said he didn't understand what the challenge was meant to accomplish.

"I have no idea where he's going with all of this or why it's come out now," Sam George said.

Vella said the hearings in Forest, Ont., will "go forward until a court says otherwise."

On Monday, a key police witness is to testify about conversations that took place at the highest levels of the provincial government in the days and hours before the deadly shooting.

Ontario provincial police Insp. Ron Fox was a liaison between the Conservative government of then-premier Mike Harris and officers at the park on Lake Huron, which was occupied by native protesters who claimed it rested on an ancient burial ground.

In previous audiotape evidence before the inquiry, Fox appears to have been fiercely critical of Harris and other members of his government.

"We're dealing with a real redneck government," Fox is heard telling Insp. John Carson, the incident commander at Ipperwash, in a phone call.

"There's no question. They don't give a shit less about Indians."

At another point, Fox told Carson, "The political people are really pushing . . . to get this done quick."

Hours later, Dudley George was shot dead when police moved in under cover of darkness against the unarmed protesters, despite warnings from police and even government lawyers that there was no rush to evict them.

Members of the George family who fought for years to have the inquiry called have long argued the death occurred because Harris exerted undue political pressure on police to evict the protesters.

It's an allegation the former premier, who is due to testify later this summer, has always strenuously denied, arguing he was only pushing for a court injunction authorizing police to end the illegal protest.