Montreal has taken a stance, with its recent decision not to reestablish a downtown statue of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, which was violently dismantled and beheaded by protesters three years ago. Acknowledged as the architect of Confederation, yet equally notorious for the initiation of the residential school system, Macdonald’s bronzed portrayal, the city has decided, will be displayed in a different location, in collaboration with a local institution such as a museum, to offer greater contextual detail to viewers.
City Councillor Ericka Alneus specified to the press on Wednesday that the statue’s relocation didn’t aim to erase history, rather, it intended to directly engage with it in a manner that adhered to contemporary values and preoccupations.
The towering symbolic figure of Macdonald, who was a vehement supporter of the Indigenous people’s assimilation, encountered frequent vandalism before it was forcibly brought down from its elevated stand at Place du Canada, located in the heart of Montreal, on August 29, 2020.
Post this uprising, the city resolved to securely store the statue while contemplating its fate, enlisting the guidance of historians, academicians, and other intellectuals to explore probable options.
The city’s executive committee, on Wednesday, consented to the panel’s ultimate recommendations, inclusive of the restoration of the statue and its impending introduction to a new, publicly accessible space augmenting visual aids, like supplementary artwork or virtual markers. The renovated installation is set to be revealed in 2025.
The vacant pedestal in Place du Canada will stand as a testament to the statue’s history, the city assures, with a revised plaque that provides a comprehensive narrative of Macdonald’s legacy, and an innovative artwork scheduled to be introduced on-site by September 2024.
Controversy isn’t a deterrent for Alneus, who affirmed that this decision pertained only to the Macdonald statue and reiterated that other controverted public monuments weren’t on the radar for removal, nor would subsequent perpetrations of vandalism provoke investigations into their future.
In response to Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Mathieu Lacombe’s apprehensions on Wednesday regarding history being rewritten, Alneus defended the city’s motives stating their intentions were far from erasure, but rather to ensure that the entire historical discourse is accounted for.
She recognizes and accepts that dissent is a natural occurrence in such controversial decisions and it’s inevitable that a fraction of the populace may feel unsettled.
The director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, Na’kuset, however, challenged the justification of publically exhibiting the statue instead of permanently discarding it, given the harm inflicted by Macdonald’s policies trailed down generations.
Eliciting a more inclusive narrative, city executive committee member, Alia Hassan-Cournol, emphasized the active involvement of Indigenous experts in formation of the statue’s plan. Further collaboration between the city and Indigenous community members is anticipated in the conception of the plaque’s content, with Indigenous ceremonies in the downtown square also proposed.
Na’kuset, anticipates active and meaningful engagements with Indigenous groups through the city’s consultations and patiently holds back on her endorsement until then.
