Doug Ford says he pushed to free Sir John A. Macdonald statue at Queen's Park
Premier Doug Ford says he encouraged efforts to remove a wooden structure that, for five years, has hidden the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald on the Ontario Legislature's front lawn, saying the province has to support Canada's first prime minister and stop worrying about the past.
The decision to reveal the statue, pushed by Progressive Conservative and Liberal members of a legislative committee earlier this week, has reignited debate about Macdonald's tainted legacy at a time when the province is facing new tensions with First Nations.
Speaking to reporters at Queen's Park on Friday, Mr. Ford said Ontario has to face its past in order to move forward with its future.
'I've been working on getting that box taken off,' Mr. Ford said. 'I can't wait. I'm getting a lot of messages. So yeah, we're freeing John A.'
Robyn Urback: A proud country cannot keep its first prime minister in a box
Editorial: Understand the past to fight for Canada's future
The Premier added that it is not the time to argue about a statue, but rather to come together as a province.
'You have to support our first prime minister. You know, things have happened over a number of years, but we can't just box them up. We have to move on. Stop worrying about the past,' he said.
'Let's start working together as a country.'
The Macdonald statue has been covered with grey hoarding since Black Lives Matter protesters splashed it with pink paint in 2020. It is one of several prominent statues of the first prime minister to face vandalism or be removed entirely owing to Macdonald's role in the establishment of Canada's Indigenous residential school system.
At present, the Progressive Conservative government is facing vehement opposition from Indigenous leaders over its Bill 5, which would give Ontario sweeping powers to speed up the construction of new mines or other projects.
Opposition NDP Deputy Leader Sol Mamakwa, the Legislature's only First Nations MPP – and who attended a residential school – said earlier this week the decision to reveal the statue is disrespectful, especially as First Nations have had to come to Queen's Park to battle Bill 5, which they say violates their treaty rights. He warned that the unboxing of Macdonald could result in protests, vandalism or even the toppling of the statue.
He said the government should instead move the statue to a museum, or build a memorial for the victims of residential schools and put up a plaque explaining what Mr. Macdonald means to First Nations.
The statue is set to be cleaned and covered in a protective film and unveiled in the summer, said Donna Skelly, the Speaker of the legislature who presides over its debates and the grounds.
A sign long posted on the Macdonald statue's hoarding will be 'formalized' and remain on display, Ms. Skelly said this week. It tells visitors that though 'we cannot change the history we have inherited, we can shape the history we wish to leave behind.' The sign also says the Speaker is 'considering how the depictions of those histories in the monuments and statuary on the Assembly's grounds can respect all of our diverse cultures and peoples.'
Mr. Ford urged critics to protest peacefully.
'You can come out there and jump up and down and protest all day long, do cartwheels. That's democracy,' he said on Friday. 'Vandalizing property is not democracy.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Indigenous storyteller Chris Bose shares his poem, Counting, for National Indigenous History Month
The Vancouver Public Library's Indigenous Storyteller in Residence Chris Bose, a member of the Nlaka'pamux and Secwepemc Nations, reads one of his poems.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
London's commemoration of Afzaal family
Hundreds gathered at a vigil Friday night in London, Ont., to commemorate four years since the brutal killing of the Afzaal family. 'It's so important for us to remember what happened, to remember this family and recommit to standing united against all forms of hatred, including Islamophobia,' said Amira Elghawaby, a Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia. The family was out for an evening walk on June 6, 2021, when they were run over by Nathaniel Veltman, who was later convicted of first-degree murder and deemed a terrorist by the courts. 'It happened because they were Muslim which is deeply, deeply painful for Canadians across the country and of course London Muslims,' said Elghawaby. Advocates expressed events like this one help bring the community together, show solidarity and respect for human rights. 'This is really a whole of society issue that all Canadians benefit from supporting and addressing,' said Elghawaby. The Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia organized the event, to ensure no other families are destroyed as a result of hate. 'We believe that silence is an enabler of hatred,' said Malik Khandakar, YCCI communications director. 'We feel the signs you give are an agreement and if you don't speak up against hatred this allows people to think it's ok.' Khandakar said more must be done to put an end to Islamophobia. 'We feel it needs a larger community because we can't just speak for ourselves. We need to have other people come out and gather. That's an important aspect of how we can move forward,' said Khandakar.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Accountant hired by Ramal to confirm accuracy of campaign finances fined by CPA Ontario
The Khalil Ramal election spending scandal reveals his auditor was not licenced and has faced discipline for involvement. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe reports. Salah Hassan's failure to cooperate with an investigation by Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) of Ontario has resulted in fines and penalties totaling $13,500 from the profession's disciplinary committee. Hassan provided a written auditor's report confirming the 2022 campaign finances of former mayoral candidate Khalil Ramal. Every candidate who receives contributions or incurs expenses in excess of $10,000 must attach an auditor's report to their financial filing. In August 2023, an anonymous complaint to CPA Ontario, a professional regulatory body, alleged Hassan's work confirming the accuracy of Ramal's campaign finances 'did not meet the standards of the profession'. It cited a story from August 2, 2023 that appeared on CTV News about a meeting of London's Compliance Audit Committee. The news story referred to the unsigned auditor's report included in the campaign's financial filing. The unsigned document read: 'Hi, I am Salah Hassan a Chartered Professional Accountant Licensed by Professional Accountants of Canada, license number 2086643. According to the information provided by Mr. Khalil Ramal, the Mayoral candidate for the City of London, Ontario, for the year 2022 election, after examining the bank statement, donation expenses and Form 4, it appears to me that all the information are correctly entered in the Financial Statement - Auditor's Report candidate - Form 4n. Best regards, Salah Hassan, CPA." 060625 - Ramal Audit Report included by Khalil Ramal with his 2022 campaign finances. (City of London) In September 2024, a ruling by the CPA Discipline Committee determined Hassan committed professional misconduct by not responding to multiple emails and telephone messages from its investigator. 'The nature of the misconduct, being the Member's complete failure to respond to the inquiries of Standards Enforcement, raised concerns about public confidence in the profession's ability to govern its own members,' the ruling reads. He was fined $5,000 for failing to cooperate with a regulatory process plus he was required to pay $8,500 in fees for the hearing. Eventually Hassan contacted CPA Ontario and blamed his failure to respond on health issues, an ill spouse, travel, and a misinterpretation: 'I was in the hospital with my wife and I was so busy with her during the month of September and October and I travelled to Egypt on November 1 for emergency family issues and I returned back on December 26, 2023. I did not have my Canada phone number with me. Please note that I did not violate any rules or regulations in my life or caused any harm to any human being or animals on earth.' The ruling by CPA Ontario states Hassan '… blamed CPA Ontario for the harm to his reputation, reflected a completed absence of insight or remorse.' Subsequently, a Compliance Audit of Ramal's campaign finances by William Molson CPA in April found a number of apparent violations of the Municipal Elections Act including not filing the names/addresses of donors who gave over $100, exceeding the candidate contribution limit ($25,000) by $11,916.27, and using an unlicensed accountant to confirm the accuracy of the document submitted to the city clerk. Molson wrote, 'Hassan did not hold a license at March 31, 2022 or March 31, 2023.' The findings of the Compliance Audit are being forwarded to a prosecutor for possible legal action against Ramal. Hassan's LinkedIn page lists his most recent position as Director of Finance for a business called EK Tech Software Solution. A company by that same name is based in Houston, Texas. However, there is a similarly named company called EK Tech Solutions on Waterloo Street in London. When CTV News called the telephone number included on EK Tech Solutions' website— Khalil Ramal answered. After being asked why Hassan described himself as Director of Finance for the company Ramal replied, 'Yes he did, he did it for a while, for three (or) four months. He did what he did, but he didn't finish. I'm not sure what he did do, but he didn't complete the work for us back then.' A week prior, Ramal was asked by the Compliance Audit Committee what steps he took to verify Hassan was a licensed CPA. At the time he responded, 'The person who I went to was the auditor of a company called Global Financial. I met him there. I know him from there. He has, you know, was an auditor. And also I went to him after that three or four times to audit a few companies.' CPA Ontario confirms Hassan is currently an 'active member', but would not disclose the status of the original investigation about whether his work for Ramal's campaign met the standards of the profession. Unable to find a phone number or email address for Hassan, CTV News accepted Ramal's offer to try to provide Hassan with a reporter's contact information. There has yet to be a response from Hassan.
