Halifax statue vandalized

HALIFAX— A statue of Edward Cornwallis has been vandalized, days after Halifax council refused to reconsider how the city honours its controversial founder.

Red paint was found on the statue’s base, plaque and nearby stones Friday morning, with smaller splashes on the statue itself.

Council rejected a bid Tuesday to discuss updating municipal landmarks bearing Cornwallis’s name.

The Mi’kmaq have long called for removal of tributes to Cornwallis, with some calling his actions against their ancestors a “genocide.”

Cornwallis, then governor of Nova Scotia, founded Halifax in 1749 and soon after issued a bounty on the scalps of Mi’kmaq men, women and children, in response to an attack on colonists.

Police Const. Dianne Woodworth said the force does not investigate vandalism unless a complaint is made by the property owner.