Ex-Disney star turned porn actress: 'You were just a product being sold'

Mark Carney Liberals trumpet Canada's 'resilient' economy in spring update

Popular ex-Blue Jays coach takes over Phillies after firing of Canadian manager Rob Thomson

Angels cutting ties with former Blue Jays all‑star after troubling start to season

NHL and broadcast world mourn sudden death of goaltender‑turned-analyst John Garrett

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

JOHNSON: Sir John A. Macdonald's leadership is more relevant now than ever before

Councillors of Prince Edward County could have shown leadership on this topic by joining with Queen's Park and Wilmot

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

Last Tuesday evening at a packed meeting, the municipal council of Prince Edward County missed an opportunity to do the right thing: Reinstall their statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in the picturesque town of Picton.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Don't have an account? Create Account

By a vote of 8-6, the councillors rejected the start of a consultative process to restore the statue of Macdonald that was removed from Main Street in June 2021 amid repeated vandalism.

JOHNSON: Sir John A. Macdonald's leadership is more relevant now than ever before Back to video

The lovely statue depicts a young Sir John A. arguing his first court case in Picton, where he lived as a young man and started his career. From that humble start, he would go on to lead the push for Confederation, establishing Canada with four provinces, and serve as its first prime minister. He was the key figure in uniting the colonies and then expanding the country from coast to coast.

The statue’s installation in 2015 was the culmination of a massive, decade-long community effort and fundraising drive spearheaded by local residents who donated the statue to the municipality.

For six years, it stood in Picton, greeting passersby who could learn a bit more about Macdonald’s early years in the town.

Suddenly, in 2021, this statue became one of nine that were torn down by protesters or removed by local authorities, all arising from the white-hot emotions that flowed from the discovery of potential graves at the former Kamloops residential school. In a short period of time, too short for reasoned debate, Macdonald was solely convicted for the mistakes of an entire society that started long before he took office and continued long after he left.

Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond.

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

Better understanding of Macdonald’s role

No one wishes to downplay the issue of residential schools or the historical mistreatment of Indigenous Canadians. This is a different issue ─ the rightful place of our first prime minister in our public spaces.

For the longest time, Canadians rightly honoured him. We can sense that we lost something when the statues were removed. Fortunately, things may be changing.

Canadians now have a better understanding of Macdonald’s role in residential schools. With the passage of time and the benefit of hindsight, we can see that we acted too rashly in removing these statues.

Last summer, the Ontario legislature removed the protective boards that covered the Macdonald statue at Queen’s Park. The township of Wilmot, outside Kitchener, bravely decided last July to restore their Macdonald statue.

Last week, the councillors of Prince Edward County were presented with their opportunity to do the same.

In support of the statue’s re-installation were many local residents, business leaders, and two prominent historians with deep knowledge of our prime ministers. Six of the fourteen local politicians calmly and intelligently pleaded for a sensible way forward to restore the statue, despite them being berated and defamed as white supremacists and confronted with sinister threats of more vandalism. They held firm and fearlessly supported the motion to restore the statue, with the motion itself being brought by an Indigenous member of council.

Sadly, the other eight councillors appeared to be cowed by the vocal minority and paralyzed by the issue. They voted for the status quo.

And in a bizarre bit of procedural unfairness, the council held the vote before speakers on either side were allowed to give their submissions. What’s more, no mention was made of the municipality possibly breaching the 2015 donation agreement under which the municipality accepted the statue that requires it to be displayed in a public place.

What a shame. The council could have shown leadership on this topic by joining with Queen’s Park and Wilmot. At a time when our nation is being threatened from all sides, the example of Sir John A.’s leadership is more relevant than ever before.

Proud Canadians must continue the work of redeeming Macdonald to his rightful place in our public squares. Was Macdonald saint-worthy? No. Statue-worthy? Yes.

But for now, Prince Edward County’s beautiful statue of a young Macdonald remains locked away somewhere in a municipal storage facility.

— Mark Johnson is the founder of SaveOurHistory.ca., a non-partisan, grassroots movement dedicated to preserving and celebrating our rich Canadian heritage by protecting our historical statues. He addressed the Prince Edward County council in favour of restoring their Macdonald statue.

Share this Story : Toronto Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Ex-Disney star turned porn actress: 'You were just a product being sold' Television

Ex-Disney star turned porn actress: 'You were just a product being sold'

Mark Carney Liberals trumpet Canada's 'resilient' economy in spring update Canada

Mark Carney Liberals trumpet Canada's 'resilient' economy in spring update

Popular ex-Blue Jays coach takes over Phillies after firing of Canadian manager Rob Thomson Toronto Blue Jays

Popular ex-Blue Jays coach takes over Phillies after firing of Canadian manager Rob Thomson

Angels cutting ties with former Blue Jays all‑star after troubling start to season Toronto Blue Jays

Angels cutting ties with former Blue Jays all‑star after troubling start to season

NHL and broadcast world mourn sudden death of goaltender‑turned-analyst John Garrett NHL

NHL and broadcast world mourn sudden death of goaltender‑turned-analyst John Garrett

© Toronto Sun