Nova Scotia premier cautions against erasing historical figures

Nova Scotia’s premier cautioned against moves to erase Canada’s history Thursday amid questions about a town in his province named for a contentious British general who Montreal has decided to remove from its streetscape.

The town of Amherst, N.S., was named for Jeffery Amherst, who supported giving smallpoxlaced blankets to Indigenous Peoples.

On Wednesday, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre vowed to remove the name Amherst from a street in that city in order to move forward on the path of Indigenous reconciliation: “Goodbye Jeffery Amherst,” he said, calling him a “stain on our history.”

On Thursday, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said he has not heard concerns about the town of Amherst being named for the controversial historical figure.

McNeil said Canada can’t ignore its history, but governments should be sensitive to the concerns of Indigenous groups and strike a balance whenever possible.

He pointed to his government’s 2015 decision to remove a sign for the Cornwallis River near an Aboriginal community. Edward Cornwallis, as governor of Nova Scotia, founded Halifax in 1749 and soon after issued a bounty on Mi’kmaq scalps in response to an attack on colonists.

“People are going to raise the issues that are important to them and that impact them. I think we always let that happen... You can’t ignore our own history, though. You can’t eliminate it,” said McNeil following a cabinet meeting in Halifax Thursday.

“I think we always need to be sensitive to how this is impacting people today, but I think we can’t ignore what was our history collectively... Whether you’re African Nova Scotian, Mi’kmaq, or Acadian — in this province, there were challenging aspects of our history. But we can’t ignore those either. We have to ensure they’re part of our ongoing educational lessons that we teach in this generation.”