Latest news with #DonnaSkelly
National Post
6 days ago
- General
- National Post
Chris Selley: Is Sir John A. Macdonald being set up for a fall?
All eyes will be on Toronto later this summer — or they should be, because it could be darkly hilarious. That's when Queen's Park undertakes a bold, interdisciplinary experiment in Canadian history, policing and law: The province is going to let Sir John A. Macdonald's statue out of the plywood prison it has inhabited for five years. The monument had been restored after previous vandalism, only to find itself in a box to prevent future vandalism. Article content Article content Article content It is possible, as National Post's Tristin Hopper argued this week, that we may be seeing the end of 'Canada's nationwide purge of historic figures and names' — at least by governments themselves. That'd be nice. But has anyone asked the yobbos who vandalize and tear down statues if they're done with the purge? Article content Article content 'How are you going to stop the same thing from happening all over again?' was among the questions reporters asked of the people in charge. The answer wasn't entirely convincing. Article content 'Legislative security will be keeping a close eye on it,' The Canadian Press assured us, based on speaker of the legislature Donna Skelly's remarks. Legislative security and the Ontario Provincial Police, who patrol the legislature grounds (with assistance from the Toronto Police Service), had better be keeping a close eye on it, because Skelly even invited the Macdonald-haters to come to the as-yet-unscheduled unveiling. Article content 'People have the right to protest here. As long as no one is hurt, and you don't break the rules or the law, you're welcome,' said Skelly (a Progressive Conservative MPP), before taking it even further: 'This is where you should be protesting.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Of course, it's unlikely anyone would try to splatter, behead or topple Macdonald during an official event. So one hopes the Queen's Park security aces at least have a camera or two trained on the statue, if not to actually prevent any vandalism then at least to apprehend and charge the offenders. Article content But then, this is a city where a certain traffic speed-enforcement camera has been taken down five times by vandals in six months — and in one case, subsequently thrown in a pond — and apparently no one has thought to install a camera that might record people doing it. We are not imaginative people. Article content Montreal police never found the gang that beheaded Macdonald's statue in Place du Canada in 2020; instead, the city just decided not to reinstall it, since it was constantly getting vandalized. Problem solved! Why waste police time over some old dead bronze guy? Article content In 2021, something calling itself an Indigenous Unity Rally hauled down the statue of Macdonald in Gore Park in Hamilton, Ont. City police investigated in earnest, by the sounds of it, and laid charges against a 56-year-old suspect. Then, prosecutors stayed the charges.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Hoarding covering Sir John A. Macdonald statue at Queen's Park to be removed
Hoarding covers the statue of Canada's first prime minister John A. MacDonald outside Queen's Park in Toronto. (CTV News Toronto) TORONTO — Hoarding that has covered a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald on the grounds of the Ontario legislature for the past five years is set to soon be removed. The statue of Canada's first prime minister has been boxed up since 2020, when it was vandalized. The monument was one of many to be targeted across the country amid anti-racism protests and as Canadians grappled with the history of residential schools. A man places flowers on a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald after demonstrators threw pink paint on it at Queen's Park in Toronto on Saturday, July 18, 2020. A man places flowers on a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald after demonstrators threw pink paint on it at Queen's Park in Toronto on Saturday, July 18, 2020. The man said it was disappointing to see the statue vandalized and the flower were to show his respect to Sir John A. CANADIAN PRESS/Carlos Osorio Macdonald is considered an architect of the country's notorious residential school system that took Indigenous children from their families in an effort to assimilate them. Progressive Conservative and Liberal members of a non-partisan board of the legislative assembly agreed earlier this month on a motion to remove the hoarding after the statue is cleaned. Speaker Donna Skelly says the statue should be ready this summer and she welcomes both supporters and protesters to come to Queen's Park. Government House Leader Steve Clark says a legislative committee has been tasked with looking at how to respect Indigenous representation at Queen's Park amid a project to rehabilitate the building. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025. Allison Jones and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
CBC
27-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Sir John A. Macdonald statue at Queen's Park to be uncovered after 5 years
Hoarding that has covered a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald on the grounds of the Ontario legislature for the past five years is set to soon be removed. The statue of Canada's first prime minister has been boxed up since 2020, when it was vandalized. The monument was one of many to be targeted across the country amid anti-racism protests and as Canadians grappled with the history of residential schools. Macdonald is considered an architect of the country's notorious residential school system that took Indigenous children from their families in an effort to assimilate them. Progressive Conservative and Liberal members of a non-partisan board of the legislative assembly agreed earlier this month on a motion to remove the hoarding after the statue is cleaned. Speaker Donna Skelly says the statue should be ready this summer and she welcomes both supporters and protesters to come to Queen's Park. Government House leader Steve Clark says a legislative committee has been tasked with looking at how to respect Indigenous representation at Queen's Park amid a project to rehabilitate the building.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
The first woman speaker at Queen's Park is focusing on her northern Ontario roots
Donna Skelly grew up in the railway town of Capreol, north of Sudbury A southern Ontario MPP who was recently appointed speaker at Queen's Park says she's looking for ways to strengthen the connection between the legislature and the north. Donna Kelly, who grew up in the Capreol area of what is today Greater Sudbury, was elected as Ontario's first female speaker on April 14. "My father was a railroad engineer and my mom was one of four women who worked as a secretary in the mine," said the Progressive Conservative MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook. "I went to Marymount College and when I was 17, I graduated from high school and headed to Toronto and studied broadcasting." Skelly worked in journalism for 30-years, with jobs at CHIP-FM Radio in Fort Coulonge, Quebec, CHRO TV Radio in Pembroke, CKWS-TV in Kingston and CHCH in Hamilton. From there, she was elected to city council in Hamilton, before entering provincial politics. Despite being based in southern Ontario, she said she has never forgotten her northern roots. "I absolutely love the north and I will be focusing a large part of my time and my efforts will be focused on northern Ontario," she said. "I'm really hoping that they can bring the legislature to the north and the north to the people of Queen's Park." To do that, Skelly said she's going to continue to work with MPPs in the region. "Next year, we will be bringing the legislative educational component, what the speaker does, to every riding in northern Ontario," she said. "And I'm hoping to go back to Sudbury and to Nickel Belt, to bring the sword and the legislature to some of the elementary schools." As for her role as speaker, Skelly said she is comfortable with her role policing the behaviour of her fellow MPPs. "People in Ontario do not want to see their politicians bickering and acting like children," she said. "I believe already, we have seen an elevated decorum in the house. People are a bit more respectful and I intend to make sure that is maintained throughout the next four years."
CBC
14-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Hamilton MPP becomes 1st female Speaker of Ontario Legislature
Donna Skelly, MPP for the Hamilton-area riding of Flamborough-Glanbrook, has been chosen by members of the Ontario legislature as the province's first female Speaker. CBC's Lorenda Reddekopp has the story.
