Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is speaking out against a proposal from a teacher鈥檚 union to rename schools in the province dedicated to Sir John A. Macdonald, saying the organization 鈥渕issed the mark.鈥�
Wynne said in a statement Thursday that Canada鈥檚 first prime minister was 鈥渇ar from perfect鈥� and that his government鈥檚 decision to open the country鈥檚 first residential school was 鈥渁mong the most problematic in our history.鈥�
But Wynne declared Macdonald a 鈥渇ather of confederation鈥� who 鈥渃ontributed greatly to the creation of a stable federal government for Canada.鈥�
鈥淭he more important question we should be asking ourselves as we move forward is how do we enact meaningful reconciliation with our indigenous peoples?鈥� Wynne said.
鈥淲e need to teach our children the full history of this country -- including colonialism, our indigenous peoples and their history and about what our founders did to create Canada and make it the country it is today. We need to understand our history, the good along with the bad, so we can move forward in an era of mutual respect and understanding with our indigenous peoples.鈥�
The premier鈥檚 comments come after the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario passed a motion last week to urge all school districts to rename schools and buildings bearing Macdonald鈥檚 name, calling him an "architect of genocide against Indigenous Peoples."
The union also cited Macdonald鈥檚 involvement as Canada鈥檚 prime minister when the federal government approved the country鈥檚 very first residential school.
Mi鈥檏maw woman and Halifax poet laureate Rebecca Thomas heralded the decision and said she welcomed the idea of going further to remove Macdonald鈥檚 face from Canada鈥檚 $10 bill.
鈥淚t was Sir John A. Macdonald who said that you needed to separate kids from their parents or otherwise you鈥檙e just going to have an educated savage that can read and write,鈥� Thomas told 麻豆影视 Channel on Thursday.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to venerate and honour these individuals any longer.鈥�
The proposed renaming may trigger an 鈥渦ncomfortable feeling,鈥� Thomas says, that forces Canadians to grapple with the way founders treated Indigenous people.
In 1883, Macdonald stood before the House of Commons and voiced his support for residential schools, saying that Indigenous children who went to school 鈥渙n the reserve鈥� would still be 鈥渟urrounded by savages.鈥�
"Though he may learn to read and write he is simply a savage who can read and write. Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence," Macdonald said.
Residential schools remain one of the darkest policies ever passed in Canada. Thousands of students died in the schools, and cases of sexual and physical abuse were rampant.
It wasn鈥檛 until 1996 that Canada鈥檚 last federally-run residential school closed its doors.
Removing Macdonald鈥檚 name from schools and other institutions wouldn鈥檛 be a form of erasure, Thomas says, but of reconciliation.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to recognize that the history of Canada was built out of violence and it was built out of taking something away from indigenous people and it was built on things such as residential schools. And it鈥檚 an important part of our history with reconciliation to stop honouring people who were active players in that history,鈥� she said.
Similar controversies have sprung up recently across Canada.
In Halifax, Mi鈥檏maw groups have called for the city to remove a bronze statue of Edward Cornwallis, who founded Halifax in 1749 and later called for a bounty on Mi鈥檏maw scalps.
In Toronto, two students groups called on Ryerson University to change its name. The school鈥檚 namesake, Egerton Ryerson, is considered one of the architects of residential school policy.
Debates over Confederate statues and monuments across the American South have been amplified in recent weeks since a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Statues depicting
Confederate leaders have since been removed in Maryland and North Carolina.
In Charlottesville, two statues of Confederate generals were shrouded in black on Wednesday.
With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press
