SIR JOHN A MACDONALD

HE was the revered founding father of the Canadian nation.

Coming from humble beginnings in Scotland, he would go on to bring together the British Colonies under one rule.

But now a statue of politician Sir John A Macdonald has been torn down by protesters over his treatment of indigenous tribes.

Macdonald was Canada’s first and one of the country’s most highly regarded Prime Ministers, his family having emigrated in 1820 to what is today Ontario.

As well as being Prime Minister for 19 years, the Glasgow-born politician was a dominant figure in the confederation, which brought together the various British colonies such as Nova Scotia to establish the collective new nation of Canada.

But his treatment of indigenous tribes, specifically the children of the Esquimalt and Songhees tribes, has caused a Canadian city to pull down his statue.

The Mayor of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, has divided the Canadian nation over the move.

Mayor Lisa helps said: “We do not propose to erase history but rather to take the time through the process of truth-telling and reconciliation as part of the Witness Reconciliation Program to tell this complex and painful chapter of Canadian history in a thoughtful way.”

The statue which was removed for storage within the last few days has seen protesters both for and against its removal airing their views.

Those in favour of keeping the statue claim that Mayor Helps is trying to rewrite history with the removal of the monument.

One protester remarked: “Mayor Lisa Helps, in a final act of cowardice on this issue, is removing the statue under cover of darkness.”

Another said: “If you want to see what a traitor looks like here it is. Lisa Helps, Mayor of Victoria, is taking down [the] statue of Sir John A Macdonald to protect the feelings of Indians.”

The statue is to be replaced with a plaque which reads: “In 2017, the City of Victoria began a journey of Truth and Reconciliation with the Lekwungen peoples, the Songhees nd Esquimalt Nations, on whose territories the city stands.”

Macdonald was the architect of the Indian residential school system. The schools were part of a system that is “best described as a cultural genocide” according to a report by the board which is overseeing the reconciliation work with the indigenous inhabitants.

The schools would separate children from their families in an attempt to suppress their culture.

Mayor Helps said: “John A Macdonald was a key architect of the Indian Residential School system.

“In 1879 he said, ‘When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write.

“It has been impressed upon myself that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence’.”