Article content
Three years after it was pulled down and beheaded during a protest at Place du Canada, the city of Montreal has decided the statue of John A. Macdonald will not be reinstalled in its former spot.
On Aug. 29, 2020, a protest held in support of defunding police and against racism turned ugly in downtown Montreal and the statue of Canada’s first prime minister was brought down. The head of the statue came off when it was toppled.
Article content
Macdonald’s history as both the founder of Canada and the instigator of government programs that decimated the country’s Indigenous population has made him a contentious historical figure. His statue, erected 128 years ago, has been vandalized numerous times.
An ad hoc committee composed of the city’s urban affairs and cultural departments and external experts studied the question of whether the statue should be reinstalled.
In a presentation to the city’s executive committee Wednesday, the group recommended the statue not be reinstalled at its former site. But it did suggest the monument that surrounded the statue be maintained and a new spot be found in a museum to display the statue of Macdonald, along with an interpretive panel explaining the debate around the placement of the statue.
The city’s executive committee accepted the recommendation on Wednesday.
“The future of this statue, while it reminds us of of a certain era, also invites us to be in touch with our present time, to pose a critical look at our history while preserving our heritage,” said Ericka Alneus, executive committee member responsible for culture and heritage.
Article content
The committee also recommended that a public call for tenders for a “multidisciplinary project allowing a wider reinterpretation of the monument” at Place du Canada be launched by the end of the year, asking Montreal artists to participate.
Other measures will be put in place to allow the public to “better understand the history of this monument and the contested heritage of John A. Macdonald,” the city said in a statement.
The city is in talks with different institutions to decide where to place the statue, “along with an interpretive panel that will reflect all aspects of its history.”
Although Macdonald was considered the key figure in Canadian Confederation — he served as prime minister from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891 — modern historians have criticized some of his government’s legislation and programs, including the creation of the Indigenous residential school system in 1883, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, the hanging of Métis leader Louis Riel and the starving of Indigenous communities to drive them out of the way to facilitate completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZ2h0dHBzOi8vbW9udHJlYWxnYXpldHRlLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvbW9udHJlYWwtd29udC1yZWluc3RhbGwtc3RhdHVlLW9mLWpvaG4tYS1tYWNkb25hbGQtZG93bnRvd27SAZUBaHR0cHM6Ly9tb250cmVhbGdhemV0dGUuY29tL25ld3MvbG9jYWwtbmV3cy9tb250cmVhbC13b250LXJlaW5zdGFsbC1zdGF0dWUtb2Ytam9obi1hLW1hY2RvbmFsZC1kb3dudG93bi93Y20vOTFlNGUwOGUtNTQyMS00ZTI2LTk4MzQtMDE0ZDhiODM2ZWQ4L2FtcC8?oc=5
2023-08-30 14:28:11Z
CBMiZ2h0dHBzOi8vbW9udHJlYWxnYXpldHRlLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvbW9udHJlYWwtd29udC1yZWluc3RhbGwtc3RhdHVlLW9mLWpvaG4tYS1tYWNkb25hbGQtZG93bnRvd27SAZUBaHR0cHM6Ly9tb250cmVhbGdhemV0dGUuY29tL25ld3MvbG9jYWwtbmV3cy9tb250cmVhbC13b250LXJlaW5zdGFsbC1zdGF0dWUtb2Ytam9obi1hLW1hY2RvbmFsZC1kb3dudG93bi93Y20vOTFlNGUwOGUtNTQyMS00ZTI2LTk4MzQtMDE0ZDhiODM2ZWQ4L2FtcC8
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Montreal won't reinstall statue of John A. Macdonald downtown - Montreal Gazette"
Post a Comment