Teachers’ union calling for renaming of schools named after John A. Macdonald

Macdonald in power when the federal government approved 1st residential schools

TORONTO (CP) — A call from an Ontario teachers’ union to remove the name of Canada’s first prime minister from public elementary schools was rejected by the province’s premier Thursday as she noted the need to understand all parts of the country’s history.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario passed a motion at its annual meeting last week that called on all school districts to rename schools and buildings named after Sir John A. Macdonald.

The union said it wanted the name change because of what it called Macdonald’s role as the “architect of genocide against Indigenous Peoples” and the impact that had on the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, parents and educators.

Macdonald was prime minister during the time the federal government approved the first residential schools in the country.

“When the school is on the reserve the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages,” Macdonald told the House of Commons in 1883. “Though he may learn to read and write he is simply a savage who can read and write. Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence.”

Thousands died in residential schools, buried in unmarked graves. Others were sexually and physically abused, returning to their communities alienated from their culture and haunted by demons that have been passed on through generations.

Premier Kathleen Wynne acknowledged that Macdonald was far from perfect, but said the ETFO had “missed the mark” on their call to drop his name from schools.

“The more important question we should be asking ourselves as we move forward is how do we enact meaningful reconciliation with our Indigenous peoples?” Wynne said in a statement.

“We need to teach our children the full history of this country — including colonialism, our indigenous peoples and their history and about what our founders did to create Canada and make it the country it is today.”

Wynne pointed to Macdonald’s contributions to creating a stable federal government as a reason for why he is an important name in Canada’s history.

“While decisions about naming schools belong to school boards, I don’t believe his name should be removed from schools in Ontario,” she said.

The ETFO’s call, however, was heralded as a strong move by at least one Indigenous rights group.

“I thought it was pretty bold, but a pretty progressive move,” said Tori Cress, a member of the Ontario chapter for Idle No More, an Indigenous rights movement that aims to raise awareness on Indigenous issues.

Cress said removing Macdonald’s name from schools could help introduce more Indigenous education that focuses on Indigenous suffering at the hands of Canadian figures. She said some people might find such a development hard to swallow, but added that people who equate name change with “erasing history” are wrong.

“It’s not erasing, it’s putting it in its proper place,” said Cress.

Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence.

Sir John A. Macdonald in 1883