Council votes against removing statue of John A. Macdonald while Hamilton reviews monuments

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

Hamilton council has voted against immediately taking down a statue of John A. Macdonald from a downtown park and placing it in storage while the city reviews its monuments and landmarks.

Ward 3 Coun. Nrinder Nann brought forward the motion and urged council colleagues to "remove the daily experiences of pain and harm and trauma" that the statue in Gore Park causes for Indigenous community members.

"We have a duty and an obligation to create an environment that is safe, that promotes well-being," she said.

The motion was defeated 12-3, with Nann voting in favour of removal, along with Ward 1 Coun. Maureen Wilson and Ward 9 Coun. Brad Clark.

Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, is considered an architect of Canada's residential school system, which took Indigenous children from their families in an effort to assimilate them. The schools date back to the 1830s and the last one closed in the mid-1990s.

In recent weeks, hundreds of unmarked graves have been detected at sites of former residential schools in B.C. and Saskatchewan.

Clark described taking down the Macdonald statue, at least temporarily, as an act of "good faith" that he felt represented a "reasonable compromise" to allow more participation and consultation in Hamilton's Urban Indigenous Strategy.

He also said he believes that if the monument, which has been covered in a red paint and wrapped in a piece of fabric in recent weeks, was not taken down, someone could pull it down "in the dark of night," causing damage that would cost more than storage.

Short of deciding not to have a third-party review of the city's landmarks, Paul Johnson, general manager of healthy and safe communities, said he didn't think removing the statue would impact the process or recommendations that are expected in early 2022.

"I do not see it changing our approach nor do I see it influencing unduly the recommendations you will receive across a number of landmarks and monuments," he said.

Statue has become a 'lightning rod'

Councillors who voted against the motion pointed to the city's planned review of the names of landmarks and monuments, and said they favoured a comprehensive approach rather than debating one-offs.

"It's not just about this statue," said Ward 15 Coun. Judi Partridge. "This statue has become an absolute lightning rod and if we remove it, in some ways, we're justifying all of the violence that's been visited upon it."

Council voted unanimously in favour of launching that review immediately following the vote against taking down the statue.

The review of landmarks and monuments has a budget of $75,000, which will be taken from the tax stabilization reserve. 

Depending on its recommendations, it might come with added costs, such as "relocation costs, development of interpretive content, providing additional signage to share an inclusive history, renaming and re-signing landmarks, additional landmarks, etc," according to a city report.

Some other cities, such as Charlottetown and Kingston, Ont., recently started to remove effigies of Macdonald,

Nann told council that failing to take down the statue in effect showed Hamilton won't let Indigenous people lead the conversation around truth and reconciliation.

"By not removing the statue, unfortunately what we will be doing is saying to Indigenous people across Turtle Island that this city council expects you to continue to endure pain and trauma and harm," she said.

"That we don't even have the courtesy and decency … to heed the words that you've already declared with us clearly."

Councillor says no votes may be called 'racist'

Ward 8 Coun. J.P. Danko said he favours a comprehensive approach to all of the city's monuments, rather than dealing with individual cases.

"I am concerned that there is a real risk of accelerating the conflict over a statue. It leads to an outcome with not any meaningful resolution for anyone," he said. "It risks alienating and driving away Canadians who genuinely want to help." 

He said based on his own recollections of Canadian history, Macdonald was "kind of a bumbling, drunken Scotsman."

However, "rightly or wrongly he is still an important symbol to Canadian unity and Canadian's pride in the founding of our country."

Danko suggested permanently painting the statue's hands red as a reminder of Macdonald's treatment of Indigenous people, and described the statue being covered in a shroud as a "powerful, artistic expression."

The councillor added that while he's trying to "listen and learn," and understand the perspectives of people who want the statue to come down, he felt that as soon as council's vote was cast, "I and every member of this council that votes against is going to be labelled as a racist."

Other members of council, including Mayor Fred Eisenberger, also spoke about the way the vote might be perceived.

It's "unfortunate," the mayor said, to characterize anyone who doesn't support taking down the statue as someone who doesn't "care about the issue."

Wilson said she wanted to apologize for the "suffering and harm" council's conversation could cause Indigenous people in Hamilton and across Canada.

She stressed the point of reconciliation is centring their needs, rather than worrying about how councillors feel or their constituents might react.

Instead, council has been "telling Indigenous Peoples across this land that we have a process, a process that they have never created or been empowered to define," she said, referencing the monument review.

Ryerson Recreation Centre name heads to committee

A motion from Wilson to debate the name of Ryerson Recreation Centre during the meeting was also defeated 11-2, with only Nann also voting in favour

The centre is named for Egerton Ryerson, another architect of the residential school system, and is attached to and shares its name with Ryerson Elementary School.

The motion followed a move from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, which recently decided to undertake an Indigenous-led process to rename the school.

Instead, the question of renaming was referred to the city's facility-naming subcommittee, with 11 councillors voting in favour, while Nann and Wilson voted against.

How to get help

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and for those triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.