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Statue removal sparks vandalism, an offer from Ontario, harsh words

A sign was vandalized and quickly replaced, Ontario made an offer, a former university professor was disavowed, and the opinions continued to pour in. The removal of the Sir John A.

A sign was vandalized and quickly replaced, Ontario made an offer, a former university professor was disavowed, and the opinions continued to pour in.

The removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald statue outside Victoria City Hall has sparked a parade of incidents.

After the 635-kilogram statue was removed early Saturday amid protests, a sign was posted on a stand, explaining the removal. It was carted away, the sign said, because of “Macdonald’s complex history as both the first prime minister of Canada and a leader of violence against Indigenous Peoples.” By Sunday, the vinyl sign had been defaced, with someone using a sharp object to slice an X through the text. The word “communism” was also written on the sign, and the numbers “1984,” presumably an Orwellian reference.

A replacement was immediately available because several copies were printed in the city’s sign shop in case there were challenges with installation, said city spokesman Bill Eisenhauer.

No security cameras are outside city hall and Eisenhauer said such incidents are generally not reported to police.

Coun. Margaret Lucas said she was saddened and disappointed that the sign was vandalized. “It’s an emotional time for people but I think the better way is to express that is through communication versus vandalism of something that’s just been put up,” she said.

The statue is in storage. Lucas would like to see it put in the Royal B.C. Museum, to be used as a tool for education.

Mayor Lisa Helps said she saw the X on the sign, and while city signs are often vandalized, this time it’s obvious it was targeted. “I guess I’m not surprised; obviously tensions are running high over this issue. But it’s important to remember the sign is a temporary measure to explain where the statue has gone as we start a wider conversation with the community about reconciliation and what it means and to find an appropriate way and context to reposition the statue in the city. Hopefully people will see it as that.”

Victoria resident Norman Cochrane came to city hall Monday morning to see the sign after it had been replaced. He thought it was “really poor” that it was defaced. He was at first against the removal, but changed his mind after hearing the passionate arguments presented by city councillors. They voted 8-1 on Thursday night to remove the statue. Coun. Geoff Young was opposed to its swift removal, on the principle that the public deserved to have input and be included in the discussion.

Other councillors who voted for the statue’s removal agreed on this point, explaining they learned about the removal plan only when it appeared on a committee-of-the-whole agenda on Tuesday or on the mayor’s blog on Wednesday.

As part of a reconciliation process, a group of councillors and First Nations leaders agreed that the statue should be removed to acknowledge that Macdonald, who oversaw the establishment of residential schools, is a figure of pain and insult for Indigenous people.

Taylor Harrington, a Toronto resident who came to read the sign on Monday, said she thinks the statue should have stayed.

“I think it should have stayed there because people can walk past and have a conversation about him and about history so I think it was wrong to take it down.” Harrington said she would welcome the statue’s relocation to Toronto, reacting to news that Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government wrote to Helps offering to acquire the statue and erect it on government property.

On Monday, Ontario’s Tourism Minister Sylvia Jones said during question period: “History matters, and we need to acknowledge the important role Sir John A. Macdonald played in Canada and Ontario’s history.”

Victoria has turned down Ontario’s offer. Helps has said the committee of councillors and First Nations leaders will decide where to display the statue and how to educate people on Macdonald’s divisive legacy.

The issue caused controversy in St. Catharines, Ont. A retired Brock University political science professor, Garth Stevenson, posted on Twitter: “The city of Victoria is removing the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald to appease some snivelling Aboriginals who probably never did a day’s work in their lives, and then they will hold some kind of pagan ‘cleansing and healing’ ceremony whatever that means. I hate that city!”

The university’s senate will decide on Wednesday whether to strip Stevenson of his status as a professor emeritus, a title routinely given to full professors at their retirement.

Tom Dunk, Brock University’s provost and vice-president academic, said in a statement that Stevenson is no longer employed by Brock and any comments he makes on social media or elsewhere are solely his own. “Brock has no connection whatsoever with his views, and abhors comments that have been posted on his social media sites,” said Dunk.

kderosa@timescolonist.com

ceharnett@timescolonist.com