Community feedback, education needed on Queen Victoria statue, says report

Since last July, the Queen Victoria statue in Kitchener has been splattered with red paint at least four times. The most recent incident was reported on May 25, following the Victoria Day weekend.

On all occasions, the City of Kitchener ordered staff to clean off the statue.

The city says it's unclear who's responsible for the incidents or the exact motive, but similar statues across Canada have been targeted for their connections with colonialism and its impacts on Indigenous and racialized communities.

Now, City of Kitchener staff are recommending politicians take action to address the local incidents.

In a report going before committee next Wednesday, city staff are recommending politicians launch a community feedback process that prioritizes Indigenous, Black and racialized people, to learn more about what to do with the statue.

"We acknowledge that the presence of the statue contributes to the ongoing harm," said Elin Moorlag Silk, interim director of equity, anti-racism and Indigenous initiatives.

The report also recommends the city launch a public education campaign related to Queen Victoria, the statue and its impacts.

"A lot of people in society may not know the history. They may not know the harms that colonialism has had on certain communities. And so part of it will just be to sort of draw attention to this history," Silk added.

'A long time coming' 

Amy Smoke, one of the co-founders of the Land Back Camp KW, said they hope to see meaningful dialogue and progress come out of the recommendations, which they worry may be "preformative."

"It's been a long time coming," Smoke said. "I hope that the public education part of it is absolutely successful."

"I also think that allies and white settler Canadians need to be stepping up to the plate and advocating alongside us." 

Smoke's personal opinion is that the statue should be removed.

Timeline

If the recommendations are approved, staff would begin research on the education campaign as early as July and the feedback process could begin in October. A report back to council is expected in the spring of 2023.

Right now, the city spends $3,000 in annual maintenance fees and pays at least $5,000 in clean up costs each time the statue is vandalized. The recommendations would cost the city up to $30,000 over a period of up to 12 months.

Last September, ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the city installed a sign at the base of the statue that signaled to the community "that work was underway towards equity and reconciliation in the realm of public art," the report said.