John A. Macdonald’s legacy is not so honourable
Get ready to see more flatbed trucks loading Canadian monuments and statues.
We may be surprised by the number that are eventually loaded. Many of the people we have honoured with statues, street names, school names and bridges are being re-evaluated as questionable Canadian historical figures. Some are not as heroic as we think.
The controversy surrounding the statue of John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister shows that we have an awkward relationship with our past. And indeed we should.
Our history carries the stigma of racism, cultural genocide, and human rights violations. This should be top of mind for us in order to collectively move towards any reconciliation with First Nations. We need to explain why the actions of those we choose to memorialize were in fact, not honourable at all, and in some cases, deplorable.
Public statues and monuments are not fixed in time. They bring our history into the ever-present. They are intensely political, challenging and sometimes distorting our memories about historic truth. While standing still in our midst they are the symbols of the norms and values of the past, often left thoughtlessly unquestioned. They are in fact the symbols of post-truth, narratives that not based on fact but presented as such.
Some are very painful for the victims of racist policies. Imagine how it feels walking by a John A. Macdonald statue if your ancestors were the victims of his residential school policies. The statue becomes a hurtful reminder of what was done to your people. But the hurt is amplified by the unquestioned honour bestowed on him by the majority of Canadians.
Macdonald cannot be expunged from Canadian or indigenous history, nor can the likes of Cornwallis, Langevin or Ryerson and others. In fact, what they did cannot be erased nor should it be forgotten. The city of Victoria B.C. isn’t the only government examining its conscience about the honors it bestows.
Buildings and streets will be renamed and monuments will fall as Canadian communities examine the truth behind the honours they have conferred. The politics of memory is upon us. We need to tread gingerly and humbly.
Leaders in the 19th century would not have been conscious of the inhumanity their policies inflicted on minorities. Macdonald did not consider the pain his policies inflicted on Indigenous families, separating them, starving them, punishing them for speaking their language and neglecting their basic needs. That legacy would continue under future prime ministers.
There is no question that John A. Macdonald made significant contributions to Canadian history. He was a dominant as Father Confederation, joining three colonies in 1867.
He envisioned the North West Mounted Police in part to protect First Nations from American marauders who were regularly crossing our borders to attack them.
Notwithstanding the scandals that surrounded his terms in office, Macdonald created a railway to the Pacific ocean and laid the foundations of a national economy. And still very significant is Macdonald’s expansion of Canadian sovereignty over the northern half of the continent, thus preventing our inevitable absorption by the U.S.
But context is important. Historic facts need to be examined before we go madly off in all directions, honouring those we think did great things. If we are to reconcile ourselves with indigenous history we need to tell the truth about our own. Canada’s greatness cannot be measured by our self-serving proclamations and symbols.
It must come from how we face our failures and omissions: how we treat the people who we mistreated. That means making sure First Nations have access to education, clean water and healthcare in their communities. Maybe instead of honouring ourselves we should honour their history, and their cultures.