King, Burton square off on Discovery Day
Bonavista MHA and St. John’s councillor have different views on what holiday means
St. John’s Coun. Maggie Burton is firing back at Bonavista Liberal MHA Neil King, who accused Burton of undermining his district by asking for a change to Discovery Day.
The tension was sparked on Monday, when Burton gave a notice of motion asking the city to speak with the province about changing Discovery Day to something more inclusive, allowing recognition of Indigenous history in the province.
“It’s just inaccurate to use that term in reference to Cabot’s voyage to Newfoundland because it’s very clear that there were people living here long before that,” Burton said.
The motion — which has yet to be voted on — proposes the city refer to the holiday as St. John’s Day until the province can come up with an alternative.
“We all have an obligation to care about getting our shared history right in this province and country,” said Burton.
“I think we all want a better city, province, country that recognizes everyone as equals and works to make sure that’s reflected in our government structures and policies.”
King doesn’t see it that way. Speaking to The Packet, King said he believes Burton — who he called a “townie councillor” in a recent Facebook post, despite Burton being from Brigus — is asking for a change no one in his district is calling for.
“If we wanted to take a look, and say, ‘We’ll change it to Cabot Day,’ or something of that sort, fine,” he told The Packet.
“But to change things just for the sake of changing things, which I think this is all about, it seems to me that she’s looking for a solution to a problem that no one asked to have fixed.”
King’s comments were much less receptive than those of Burton to King’s boss — Premier Dwight Ball. In a statement issued Tuesday, Ball said he is open to a conversation about changing the name of the holiday, should Indigenous groups make the request — a much more conciliatory tone than what King offered.
In an interview this week with The Toronto Star, Miawpewkek Chief Mi’sel Joe said he is open to a conversation about changing the holiday, but no conversations had happened with the provincial government to that point.
Burton says she’s not trying to dismiss the importance of John Cabot’s arrival in Newfoundland and Labrador.
She says European and Indigenous history can be recognized at once.
“Cabot is a hugely important figure. He connected two separate branches of humanity that were separate for thousands of years and that’s why he matters,” she said.
“We can recognize his actual contributions to Newfoundland and Labrador and commemorate him for what he did, without using the concept of discovery in that conversation.”
The motion will be voted on at an upcoming St. John’s city council meeting.
With files from Mark Squibb