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TORONTO - The lawyer for an aboriginal protester wants the Ontario government to temporarily suspend the commissioner of the provincial police force and urgently investigate comments he made to the protester during last year's aboriginal day of action.

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THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tom Hanson

Lead Mohawk protester Shawn Brant talks with the media after successfully shutting down Highway 401 as part of their protest near Deseronto, Ontario, Friday, June 29, 2007 .

Peter Rosenthal, lawyer for Shawn Brant, told a news conference in Toronto on Saturday that threatening comments made by Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino in wiretapped conversations with his client on June 29, 2007, and testimony under oath during a preliminary inquiry, suggest his conduct needs to be investigated.

"They should suspend Commissioner Fantino as a commissioner ... and have a quick investigation," said Rosenthal.

He also said he wants Premier Dalton McGuinty to read the transcripts and "then consider whether or not it's appropriate for Mr. Fantino to remain commissioner of the OPP."

The wiretap documents suggest the OPP was minutes away from moving in on First Nations blockades on Highway 401 during the aboriginal day of action.

The phone conversations - recorded without a court order - indicate Fantino told Brant he would do "everything I can within your community and everywhere else to destroy your reputation."

Rosenthal said there is a provision in the Criminal Code for such wiretaps, but they are for "extreme" circumstances.

Brant had made it clear the blockades were going to be erected weeks in advance, he said.

Fantino told the court he didn't know who ordered the wiretaps, but he was aware of them.

The commissioner also told Brant over the phone that "your world's going to come crashing down" and that he would suffer "grave consequences" if the blockade didn't end.

Asked what Fantino meant by "grave consequences," Rosenthal answered bluntly.

"Death. Dudley George suffered grave consequences," he said in reference to the shooting death of the aboriginal protester by an OPP sniper in Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995.

"If somebody does read that transcripts, who's aware of Ipperwash, they would recognize that there's danger in allowing Fantino to be head of OPP and the danger we talk about is life and death." Rosenthal said.

The heated exchanges between Brant and Fantino seem to contradict the force's own guidelines for dealing with aboriginal groups, which were recommended following George's shooting.

The framework for police preparedness for aboriginal critical incidents recommends that local First Nations police play a lead role in incidents.

In this instance, Fantino travelled to Napanee, Ont., on the day of the protest and took over negotiations from the aboriginal officers Brant had been dealing with.

Brant, who faces nine charges, was arrested following the incidents, when he and other First Nations protesters blocked Canada's busiest highway as well as the CN Rail corridor between Toronto and Montreal near Deseronto, Ont.

In court transcripts, Rosenthal asked Fantino if the recommendations of the Ipperwash Inquiry dictate that in situations like the aboriginal day of action if "for the public good, as well as for the respect of the protesters involved, it's important to understand where they're coming from and deal with their cultural values and so on?"

Fantino responded saying "there's nothing in the spirit, the intent or the written word in this document that justifies criminal conduct or that exonerates people from accountability from criminal conduct."

Rosenthal said that although Fantino's comments are true, the OPP made a commitment to the recommendations of the Ipperwash Inquiry to recognize special concerns when dealing with aboriginal protesters.

"Mr. Fantino, in my submission, does not recognize that," Rosenthal told reporters.

In Quebec City on Friday, McGuinty said that Fantino has the Ontario government's full support.

A spokesman for the premier said on Saturday that nothing changed in light of the release of the documents or Rosenthal's comments.

A spokeswoman for the OPP said it would be inappropriate to comment on the case because it remains before the courts.

Rosenthal also revealed Saturday that an undercover OPP officer had gone to the scene of the blockade on the aboriginal day of action acting as a member of the media to get a closer look at the blockade and the protesters.

He asked the officer in court if there were any concerns his actions might hinder the freedom of the press.

The officer responded there were not.

Rosenthal and lawyers from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation successfully lifted the publication ban on the court documents and transcripts Friday, only to have a judge reinstate it later in the afternoon. The same judge then reversed the decision a few hours later, allowing for the publication of the evidence.