City of Victoria to remove John A. Macdonald statue from front steps of city hall

The City of Victoria is planning to remove the statue of John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, from the front steps of city hall because of what it says is his role as "a leader of violence against Indigenous peoples."

Council will be asked Thursday to endorse the decision of the City Family, a group created by the municipality last year to address issues of reconciliation, to have the statue removed on Aug. 11.

Changing names, changing perception: Victoria faces duality of colonial history, pushes for reconciliation "It's been a year of discussion and deliberation, and we realized it's going to be many years of reconciliation," said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps.

"One of the things we heard very clearly from the Indigenous family members is that coming to city hall to do this work, and walking past John A. Macdonald every time, feels contradictory. "And if the city is serious about reconciliation, which I would say we are, then one important thing we do is temporarily remove the statue from the front steps of city hall."

Katie Hooper, executive director of the Esquimalt Nation, applauded the decision in a letter to the mayor. "Removing this statue is an important step in the city's reconciliation journey, and is a symbol of progress towards and end to discrimination and oppression," Hooper wrote.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/john-a-statue-victoria-helps-1.4777810