The City of Victoria, B.C., is being accused of 鈥渉istorical vandalism鈥� after councillors voted seven to one in favour of removing a statue of Canada鈥檚 first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, from outside their city hall.
But for local First Nations who have been calling for the statue鈥檚 removal, the move is being called a small step toward reconciliation.
Macdonald, whose face is on the $10 bill, has long been celebrated for joining three colonies together into Canada in 1867, and then creating a railway to the Pacific Ocean that allowed Canada to expand across the northern half of the continent rather than being subsumed into the United States.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps acknowledges that Macdonald helped to found the country, but she says he 鈥渨as a key architect of the Indian Residential School system鈥� and that makes the 37-year-old statue a 鈥減ainful reminder of colonial violence.鈥�
Macdonald, said in 1879 that 鈥淚ndian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men.鈥�
Over the following century, more than 150,000 Indigenous people attended residential schools, where their cultural ties were severed and many suffered abuse. Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologized for the system in 2008, but Indigenous people say the harms continue.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e serious about reconciliation, we have to take action,鈥� Helps said.
Ron Rice, the executive director of the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, told 麻豆影视 that removing the statue of Macdonald 鈥渋s very symbolic.鈥�
Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, however, called the statue鈥檚 impending removal an example of 鈥減olitical correctness鈥� being used to 鈥渆rase history.鈥�
鈥淲e can look to the past, acknowledge and learn from mistakes, and celebrate achievements at the same time,鈥�
Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney also vociferously opposes the move, saying in a video that it鈥檚 proof 鈥減olitical correctness has gone way too far鈥� and an act of 鈥渉istorical vandalism.鈥�
鈥淛ohn A. Macdonald was not a perfect man, but he was still a great man,鈥� Kenney said.
鈥淢acdonald鈥檚 audacity of vision is partly what made Confederation possible 150 years ago,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t required incredible patience and a bold vision ... We must honour his vision, his central role in the creation of what has become one of the greatest, freest and most prosperous countries.鈥�
Kenney pointed out that Macdonald was ahead of his time in calling in 1885 for women to have the right to vote. That same year, to Indigenous people who met certain property conditions, an enfranchisement that Wilfrid Laurier took away in 1898. Indigenous people didn鈥檛 regain that right until 1960.
Kenney said that the residential school system was a 鈥渢errible injustice鈥� but that 鈥渄ark moments鈥� of history must be seen in a broader context.
Victoria Coun. Ben Issit, a historian who missed the vote due to a law exam but supports the statue鈥檚 removal, said that a lack of context is part of the problem.
鈥淚f you go by (the statue), you don鈥檛 know anything about the residential schools,鈥� he said.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know anything about John A. Macdonald鈥檚 contributions in all the other areas of Canadian history,鈥� he went on.
According to Issit, his constituents, 鈥渨ant us to actively pursue a process of de-colonization and removing this statue is a small first step.鈥�
Not all constituents agree. Eric McWilliam told CTV Vancouver Island that the decision to remove the statue is an attempt 鈥渢o erase our history and erase our culture," and he will attend a
"I'm very proud of our culture, I'm very proud of the accomplishments of all Canadians including Scottish-Canadians like myself,鈥� McWilliam said.
Victoria is not the only place where Indigenous people have called for the removal of Macdonald鈥檚 name or likeness.
Last year, an Ontario teachers' union demanded that Macdonald鈥檚 name be removed from schools where they teach. Kathleen Wynne, who was premier at the time, criticized the move.
In May, the Canadian Historical Association voted to strip Macdonald's name from one of its top writing prizes.
Lynda Kitchikeesic, an Indigenous rights activist with Ojibway heritage, said she hopes the erasure of Macdonald鈥檚 name continues, starting with the Macdonald Parkway in her home city of Ottawa.
鈥淚 have never used that name. I would never use that name,鈥� she said.
鈥淧eople always talk about, well they had good intentions,鈥� she said of the figures behind the residential school system.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care about your good intentions,鈥� she went on. "Racism is racism. ... Just because you think it鈥檚 okay doesn鈥檛 make it okay 鈥� not today, not yesterday and not tomorrow.鈥�
With a report from CTV National News B.C. Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy
