Doug Ford says it's time to ‘move on' from Macdonald statue controversy
It's time to 'move forward' from controversy over the Ontario legislature's statue of Sir John A. Macdonald now that the decision has been made to
remove the protective hoarding around it
, says Premier Doug Ford.
'You know, things have happened over a number of years, but we can't just box them up,' he told reporters Friday. 'We have to move on. Stop worrying about the past.'
The statue of Canada's first prime minister, on the front lawn atop University Avenue, has been
out of sight
since a wooden box was built around it in 2020 following acts of vandalism over Macdonald's role in creating
residential schools
, where thousands of Indigenous children died after being taken from their families.
In the coming weeks, the statue will be cleaned and a protective coating applied as a result of a May 12 decision by the legislature's board of internal economy to once again have it on full public display. Representatives from Ford's Progressive Conservatives, the New Democrats and Liberals sit on the board.
There will be a plaque stating, in part, 'though we cannot change the history we have inherited, we can shape the history we wish to leave behind' as
consultations
continue with Indigenous groups on how to better represent their concerns at the legislature, where suggestions have included building a residential schools monument.
The move to 'unbox' the statue, where dozens of tiny shoes had been placed in memoriam over the years, has frustrated New Democrat MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong), a residential school survivor who warned it could be toppled or spray painted because of the hurt residential schools caused.
'We are still trying to find our kids, our ancestors, in these residential schools,' he said earlier this week, referring to the search for unmarked graves that is expected to take years.
Ford discouraged vandalism but invited protests at the statue, which will be under 24-hour security watch.
Residential schools opened in 1883 under Macdonald's government. The last one closed in 1996. About 150,000 Indigenous children were removed from their homes in a system likened to apartheid and genocide. Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission counted 3,201 deaths in its 2015 report.
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