Victoria removing Macdonald statue

The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, will be removed from the doorstep of Victoria City Hall on Saturday.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said if the city is sincere about reconcili- ation efforts, the statue must be removed, put in storage, and its future discussed, so that Indigenous people are not forced to encounter a painful reminder of colonial violence each time they enter city hall. The move stems from the city’s reconciliation program involving local First Nations.

Helps said a key part of reaching a decision on the statue was creating a “city family” to discuss the issue, rather than a formal task force. The group included her, councillors Charlayne ThorntonJoe and Marianne Alto, and members of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

The decision on the statue was approved in a 7-1 vote by city council on Thursday.

“All council is being asked to do is endorse the family’s decision,” Helps said. “So it’s been a year of deliberation, and it feels like if we really are sincere about the reconciliation, we need to remove the statue, put it safely in storage and have a continued and larger conversation about the complex role that John. A. Macdonald played in Canadian history.”

Macdonald was the “architect” of the residential-school system, she said.

The statue was erected in 1982.