One town's struggle over Sir John A. statue
BEHIND THE SCENES AT A COUNTY'S COUNCIL DECISION
• The sculpture of Sir John A. Macdonald will stay in front of Picton Library, after a lengthy special council meeting via Zoom Tuesday evening. Prince Edward County council decided to leave the statue in its current location on Main Street in the eastern Ontario town, voting 12-2 in favour of not moving it. Council will seek permission and feedback from the Macdonald Project group, the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and artist Ruth Abernethy to add further interpretation.
The Prince Edward Heritage Advisory Committee (PEHAC) had voted to endorse the recommendation made by the Holding Court Working Group for the removal of the statue.
The life-size bronze statue, titled Holding Court, depicts Canada's first prime minister contesting his first legal case as a young lawyer in the Picton Courthouse in 1834. Unveiled on July 1, 2015, it was a gift to the municipality from the Macdonald Project.
As the Macdonald government's treatment of minorities, particularly Indigenous people, has come to public consciousness i n recent years, a number of Macdonald statues and sculptures across the country have been the target of vandalism, including this one in Picton.
Council listened to more than three hours of deputations by the public and while most favoured keeping the sculpture in place, a number of impassioned pleas were made to have it removed.
County native Shannon Helm teaches in a Cree community in northern Ontario and asked council to follow the recommendation of PEHAC and the Working Group to remove the statue. In a passionate deputation, she said the decision had to be based on the mandate of truth and reconciliation.
“This spring I wrote a petition asking for the statue to be removed and put in storage until a proper public consultation could be done (but) to my knowledge, my petition was ignored, though I (made a deputation) to the group tasked with forming the Working Group,” she said. “In addition to sharing the petition with them, I pointed out public surveys were troubling to me (and) I didn't want the decision to rest on popular opinion.
I wanted the decision to be made by a well-informed Working Group, following a mandate of truth and reconciliation.”
Councillor Phil St-Jean said the sculpture was needed to help advance discussions about Indigenous people.
“I'm a fan of Canadian history and a huge fan of local Prince Edward County history,” he said. “I feel the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald Holding Court needs to remain on Picton Main Street so that it can be used as a tool to educate — not just me, not just you, the next generation and all Canadians who come to visit our community. We owe it to our Indigenous friends and neighbours to tell their story. Taking the sculpture off Main Street, in my view, will set that discussion back — it will set it aside.”
Local historian and PEHAC member Peter Lockyer said there was little sense of victory in council's decision.
“I actually feel we all failed (because) we couldn't find a way above all the yelling, blaming and shaming to listen to each other and hear the nuances of conversation that were opportunities for compromise and new ideas,” he said. “Several people suggested ideas for an accompanying sculpture developed in consultation with First Nations and created by an Indigenous artist that reflects their contribution and perspectives on the story of this country. I'd like to see us create one showcasing the French contributions.
“Others t al ked about making plans for National Indigenous Peoples Month next June to host events with our Mohawks neighbours,” he said, “but these things just got lost in all the anger and bitterness. We now have to heal this community. We need to start over and review how we have these much-needed but very painful conversations. Next time, let's not revolve around an axiom where somebody wins, and somebody loses. Let's find a way in which we can all win.”
Mayor Steve Ferguson said that although the process of deciding the statue's fate has been highly controversial, he too is hopeful it will lead to more dialogue.
“This process has sparked considerable debate and discussion within the community, and opened our eyes to the importance of these conversations,” he said. “We have a greater understanding of Macdonald, his times, and the issues that Indigenous peoples have faced and continue to deal with to this day. As a Council, we understand that considerable work remains in the process of reconciliation and creating respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigneous peoples in our community.”
In a letter to council this week, former mayor Robert Quaiff wrote that much research was done before the municipality decided to accept the gift, titled Holding Court, from the Macdonald Group.
“My first action was reaching out to Chief R. Don Maracle, hence a meeting that lasted a couple of hours. It was probably the biggest history enriched lesson I ever received about the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte,” he said. “As Chief Maracle explained, he had no position one way or the other and stated that he was more interested in teaching people about the history that took place with the Aboriginal people.
“I didn't want to offer support to this project until I did all of the above, as I have three beautiful grandchildren that bear the last name Maracle and didn't want them to be ashamed of having a Poppa that endorsed the Sir John A. Macdonald project. I feel good that I didn't let them down.”
Council also directed staff to develop a public art policy reaffirming Prince Edward County's commitment to anti-racist attitudes and to inclusiveness of marginalized peoples in the community. The policy, to be developed in consultation with the Prince Edward County Arts Council, will be presented to council at a committee of the whole meeting no later than Sept. 30, 2021.