Wilmot to vote on pausing prime minister statue project over racism concerns

Councilors in Wilmot, Ont., will vote tonight on a motion to pause work on a series of statues of Canadian prime ministers — a project critics say is offensive because it commemorates individuals responsible for Canada's racist policies against First Nations people.

The motion calls for council to delay any further investment in, or expansion of, the Prime Ministers Path project until a "sufficient, thorough, respectful and transparent consultation process" has taken place.

But the co-organizer of a group asking for the statues to be removed entirely says there's been enough consultation over the years and she'll be asking council Monday night to amend the motion so that it halts the project for good.

"We as an organisation believe that the consultation process has been done thoroughly, and there have been plenty who have … been pained through the process," said Cheyanne Thorpe, who helps run the group Support the Removal of the John A. Macdonald statue in Baden, Ontario.

"We've provided them with more than enough information, more than enough resources. They've had more than enough education at their fingertips to be able to … make the right decision on this motion," Thorpe told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

Statue project struggled to find a home

Council voted unanimously in 2016 to place the privately-funded art project at Castle Kilbride in Baden, after it was rejected by the City of Kitchener and by officials at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Thorpe's group wants to remind Wilmot council that Indigenous people in the area continue to live with the systemic oppression that flows from Macdonald's policies, she said.

The plan was to erect statues of all 22 of Canada's former Prime Ministers, and so far, five are standing on the grounds. They are: 

• John A. Macdonald, sculpted by Ruth Abernethy and unveiled in 2016.
• William Lyon Mackenzie King, sculpted by Morgan MacDonald and unveiled on June 29, 2017.
• Lester B. Pearson, sculpted by Ruth Abernethy and unveiled on June 29, 2017. 
• Sir Robert Borden, sculpted by Nathan Scott and unveiled on Nov. 6, 2017. 
• Kim Campbell, sculpted by Darren Byers and Fred Harrison and unveiled on June 28, 2018. 

Wilmot Township says Createscape Waterloo Region is behind the Prime Ministers Path project. Createscape is a registered charity that says it commissioned the sculptors to help people "explore and understand Canada's history."

"Each sculpture includes "easter eggs", symbols that highlight and illustrate an important incident or event in the prime minister's life or the history of Canada during that [prime minister's]," it says on its website.

Petition, counter petition

Around 1,400 people have signed a petition calling for the removal of the project, citing Sir John A. Macdonald's record on Indigenous issues — which includes establishing Canada's residential school system.

His statue was doused in red paint on National Indigenous People's Day this year.

At the same time, around 900 people have signed a counter petition to keep the statues in place, saying Macdonald's legacy can be addressed without removing the entire project.

"Moderate voices believe we can address issues of racism and Aboriginal history by adding to the project's information base and actually using the statues to direct attention to these important matters. There is no rational reason to destroy the whole project," the second petition reads.

Wilmot Coun. Barry Fisher believes pausing the project is the best approach at the present time, he told CBC.

"There's quite a few emails on both sides and calls — I'm getting calls every day," he said. "I don't think we can make a rash decision right away and say, 'Let's get rid of them.' I think we have to try and work things out if we can, you know?"

"Ultimately, we have to keep an open mind and be prepared to listen to the presentations of delegations," Counc. Jennifer Pfenning said.

But, she added, she can understand why Indigenous people feel so strongly about the issue.

"I'm a mother who lost a son. And I know that the loss of that one of my three sons has been horrifically painful for me," she said.

"And so that informs my perspective when I'm coming to Indigenous people talking about how they feel about the impact of the residential schools, and just why they find seeing statues of Sir John A. Macdonald to be traumatic for them."

Neither Fisher, nor Coun. Pfenning would say how they plan to vote Monday night.