Close X
Thursday, October 31, 2024
ADVT 
National

Talks To Begin In Victoria On New Home, Clearer Context, For Macdonald Statue

The Canadian Press, 28 Feb, 2019 11:34 PM

    VICTORIA — The City of Victoria and local First Nations are mulling over what to do about the mothballed Sir John A. Macdonald statue.


    The statue of Canada's first prime minister and member of Parliament for Victoria from 1878 to 1882 was removed from the steps of Victoria City Hall last August.


    Critics said Macdonald's role at the head of a government that created the Indian Act and established the residential school system made the statue inappropriate.


    Mayor Lisa Helps says Victoria will be holding talks in the coming months, focusing on what the city must learn about reconciliation and also considering the best place to relocate the statue.


    A decision on a new home won't be made until after talks conclude, and Helps says donating the statue in an option, although that could be complicated because it was originally a gift to Victoria.


    Helps says politicians, Coast Salish First Nations in the area and the public have to consider how the statue could be placed with more context, ensuring history is expanded, not erased.


    "What we heard very clearly from (the Songhees and Esquimalt) Nations is that a broader story of John A. Macdonald needs to be told," she says.


    "I think the imagining, at least from the nations, ... is that when the statue is re-situated, there will be some other piece put in conversation with it in some way," she says, adding the city still needs to hear the opinions of First Nations and other community members.

    Helps says council has directed that the upcoming talks about the statute and reconciliation should be run through her office.


    She says the format could including "people coming, sharing a few meals, sitting around tables, and having a conversation to start."


    A date for the talks is expected to be set after council approves Victoria's strategic plan.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Jagmeet Singh Wins Burnaby South Byelection

    With more than half the polls reporting results in Burnaby South, Singh had just over 38 per cent of the vote, comfortably ahead of Liberal Richard T. Lee's 26 per cent and Conservative Jay Shin's 22 per cent.

    Jagmeet Singh Wins Burnaby South Byelection

    Metro Vancouver Officials Want People To Think Before Throwing Out Clothes

    Metro Vancouver Officials Want People To Think Before Throwing Out Clothes
     Clothing is clogging up British Columbia landfills reaching nearly 20 million kilograms of textiles a year from Vancouver residents alone.

    Metro Vancouver Officials Want People To Think Before Throwing Out Clothes

    Drugs, Weapons Seizure Linked To Brothers Keepers Gang Say Delta Police

    DELTA, B.C. — Police in Delta, B.C., say they have seized a significant amount of drugs, including a suspected bulk quantity of fentanyl, from a known criminal organization.

    Drugs, Weapons Seizure Linked To Brothers Keepers Gang Say Delta Police

    Liberal Turmoil A 'Gift' To NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh In B.C. Byelection: Expert

    The stakes are high for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in a Metro Vancouver byelection race, but an expert says recent Liberal turmoil has been a "gift" to his campaign.

    Liberal Turmoil A 'Gift' To NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh In B.C. Byelection: Expert

    Turnout At Funeral For Seven Young Fire Victims Shows Widespread Support: Imam

    The massive turnout at a funeral for seven young victims of a devastating house fire shows that Halifax is uniting in support of the surviving members of the family, according to the spiritual leader of a local mosque.

    Turnout At Funeral For Seven Young Fire Victims Shows Widespread Support: Imam

    'Turning Humans Into Robots:' Injured Broncos Player Planning Spinal Surgery In Thailand

    CALGARY — A hockey player paralyzed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash is planning to head to Thailand in his quest to get better.    

    'Turning Humans Into Robots:' Injured Broncos Player Planning Spinal Surgery In Thailand