A Time For Compromise

There can be no doubt that across Canada, John A's statue has been the centre of discussion in many communities - PIcton is no different. I think by now most know of MacDonald's good and not so good history, so I am not going to repeat it. As a white male, it would be easy for me to take the position of doing nothing. That very approach is the reason why in the year 2020, we are now back dealing with an issue that should have been dealt with years ago - in other words maintaining the status quo solves nothing and should not be considered.

My suggestion is pretty straight forward - relocate the statue to the courthouse - the place where John A started his career. Along with the statue, a clear and factual historical account of his time as our PM - explaining his positiver contributions, along with the policies he supported and promoted that were clearly harmful to both our Chinese and Aboriginal communities.

The idea of perpetuating a myth or legend should never be confused with history. Canadian history is something to be proud of, but we can't ignore the truth - and isn't that what Truth and Reconciliation is all about? Truth doesn't change the history, but only adds to it. We only have to look south of our border to see how a the true history of a country has been so twisted over time, by movies and TV that this confusion now culturally divides that country. This opportunity we have to keep our history factual and honest cannot be squandered due to petty politics and personal feelings. It is time to prove that we understand and are prepared to compromise to make it right.