Let's celebrate all aspects of Canada's history

It's past time that non-indigenous Canadians take a fresh, candid look at our history from the perspective of North America’s indigenous peoples. In doing so, many will be confronted with uncomfortable and ugly facts that were glossed over or omitted entirely from the histories many of us were taught in school.

Here’s the difficult truth that everyone needs to come to terms with: since the beginning of the colonization period and for centuries thereafter, Europeans systematically murdered, displaced, tortured, and subjugated indigenous peoples all across the planet, including here in Canada. During those times, Europeans, in large part, held views that we now know were wicked and wrong. These included ideas that indigenous peoples were inherently inferior, uncivilized, and needed to either be assimilated into Christian civilization or eradicated.

All Canadians have a moral duty to recognize this legacy of racism and systemic oppression and we must do better, be it through ameliorative government policy, enhanced education, or community engagement. This struggle for justice has itself been a long and hard march, but it is absolutely necessary if we as a society are to heal and reconcile over the long term. Although we have made undeniable progress through the years, there’s no doubt that racism and prejudice towards indigenous peoples and other non-white people persist. There is much work still to be done.

In recognizing these truths, the question becomes: where do we go from here? How do we reconcile our good-faith desire to celebrate our local history with the immeasurable pain and suffering caused by white settlers? There are no easy answers to these questions, to be sure.

In the context of historical statues, in my view, the best we can do is to engage in informed and well-represented dialogue and make decisions on a case by case basis together as a community, which is exactly what we are doing in this case. Again, this exercise is really hard, and no matter what the decision, some people will inevitably be left feeling disappointed or worse irrespective of the outcome.

In this case, I personally oppose the removal of Sir John A. from Picton Main St. for a number of reasons:

1. Historical significance: As our first Prime Minister, there’s no doubt that SJAM is an important figure in our history. But at the same time his legacy is complicated. Aside from enacting racist government policy against indiginoes peoples, SJAM was probably guilty of shady dealings in the Pacific Rail Scandal. Still, he played a significant role in Confederation, helping to create Canada. There should be no shame in celebrating Canada or the people that brought it into existence. In other words, we can celebrate the good, without covering up the bad.

2. Local connection: SJAM has a real connection to Picton having worked and lived here as a young lawyer. His statue is a reminder of Picton’s history as a police village during the nascent settlement of Upper Canada.

3. Historically accurate: The statue is not some kind of propagandized glorification of SJAM, depicting the conquest of British North America or something gratuitous like that. Instead, it's a fairly subdued depiction of him in Picton court as a young barrister, which is a plain historical fact.

As a resident of Picton with deep roots in the area, I do find personal inspiration in learning about my family’s history in the County, and about our local history generally. When I walk by the statue, I am reminded of when I was a newly called lawyer arguing matters in Picton court not so long ago. I can’t help but feel a tangible connection to the past, which I suppose was one of the intended purposes of the statue in the first place. I am also reminded of the pioneers in my family who left the US in search of a better life in Canada in the early 1800s. More recently, when I see the statue, I am also reminded of many of the dark aspects of our past, in large measure thanks to the current debate of SJAM across Canada. In this way, the recent controversy has made a positive impact, at least to me.

Ultimately, I don’t accept that celebrating one aspect of our history is mutually exclusive with celebrating other aspects. I say that we should fund a public memorial commemorating the history of indigenous peoples in the County and ensure that it is prominently displayed. At the same time, I also think SJAM’s statue should continue to stand, warts and all. This is not a zero-sum game.