Don鈥檛 be quick to dismiss the voices calling for the removal of statues of John A. Macdonald 鈥� some of those voices are crying out in pain, much of it the result of Macdonald鈥檚 policies.
On the other hand, don鈥檛 be too quick to see the removal of these statues and other artifacts of our colonial history as a remedy for the ills of the past. It鈥檚 a tempting road to take, but it could be a never-ending road, and a dangerous distraction from today鈥檚 urgent problems faced by sa国际传媒鈥檚 First Nations.
The Elementary Teachers鈥� Federation of Ontario recently passed a motion calling for a debate on renaming of schools named after Macdonald, sa国际传媒鈥檚 first prime minister, 鈥渋n recognition of his central role as the architect of genocide against Indigenous peoples.鈥�
That has resurrected discussion in Victoria about the fate of the statue of Macdonald that stands in front of city hall. Council has decided, for the moment, to leave the statue where it is, but will consider the possibility of moving it.
Macdonald鈥檚 comments and actions concerning sa国际传媒鈥檚 Aboriginal people make us squirm 鈥� and so they should. We shouldn鈥檛 excuse them or minimize them with the observation that we鈥檙e looking at the past through a modern lens.
That modern lens shows us clearly that Macdonald was wrong. He and others who strove to 鈥渢ake the Indian out of the child,鈥� who saw Indigenous people as impediments rather than fellow citizens, inflicted great damage that persists today.
But Macdonald also achieved great things in shaping sa国际传媒 into the country that it is today. It鈥檚 not perfect, but it is indeed a magnificent country, one worth celebrating and well worth improving.
If you start taking away statues of our first prime minister and removing his name from schools and other facilities, where will it end? Do we change that name of Victoria? After all, it was during that queen鈥檚 reign that British colonialism neared its apex. The name of Vancouver would have to be erased from the maps, as would countless other names from the colonial era, including the very name of our province.
Apart from philosophical concerns, a logistical nightmare looms, one that would take resources away from much more pressing concerns.
Robert Jago, a member of sa国际传媒鈥檚 Kwantlen First Nation who now lives in Montreal, writes in the Globe and Mail: 鈥淚ndigenous people don鈥檛 need the [Elementary Teachers鈥� Federation of Ontario] to tell us that Sir John A. Macdonald was a villain. He charged Louis Riel with high treason; he starved First Nations people to make way for the railroad; he started the residential-school system.鈥�
But the Macdonald issue is taking attention away from more urgent First Nations problems, Jago writes.
鈥淚ndigenous people are tired of seeing our politics knocked off track by these flavour-of-the-month intrusions by non-natives,鈥� he says. 鈥淔ar from decolonizing the public schools, the ETFO motion is an example of Ontario鈥檚 teachers colonizing the public debate over Indigenous policy.鈥�
Removing a Macdonald statue would be a symbolic gesture. But it鈥檚 empty symbolism as long as First Nations communities go without adequate drinking water, when First Nations children get a substandard education and are over-represented in the foster-care system, when a hugely disproportionate number of Indigenous people are in Canadian prisons.
Yes, the country Macdonald started is a great place, and his achievements should be remembered. But we should also remember his mistakes and strengthen our efforts to correct them, in full consultation with those most affected.
Let his statue be a reminder of how far we have come, but let it also be a reminder of how far we have yet to go.
