After a marathon special Prince Edward County council meeting, it was decided that the “Holding Court” Sir John A. Macdonald statue will be removed from Picton Main Street.
The statue will be stored in a county building while consultation happens with the owners, the artist, Indigenous people and any other relevant parties on finding another public space for the statue. A decision will have to be made by March 31, 2022.
County council called the special meeting last Friday to discuss the Sir John A. Macdonald “Holding Court” statue which has been situated on Picton Main Street since it was donated in 2015.
The media release regarding the special meeting read, in part:
“The national conversation sparked by the discovery of remains of 215 Indigenous children at a residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, is reason to pause and reflect on the “Holding Court” statue,” Mayor Steve Ferguson says. “A dialogue about the statue is necessary as it relates to public safety and the contractual obligations of the municipality.”
The agenda for the meeting stated that the discussion of the statue was in regards to “public safety and contractual obligations of the County of Prince Edward.”
On the evening there were 43 members of the public who registered in advance to provide public comment.
An overwhelming number of them advocated for the county to remove the statue. One deputant argued that any attempts to leave the statue for teaching opportunities or otherwise were misguided and insensitive.
Other deputants, in favour of leaving the statue in its place on Picton Main Street, painted differing pictures of Sir John A. Macdonald’s role in the institution of residential schools and raised questions about his role in the tragedies associated to residential schools.
Some suggested that the statue be removed but instead put into a museum to preserve the history but to take it away from a public space.
Of the approximately 40 people who spoke, upwards of 30 of them spoke directly in opposition of leaving the statue on Picton Main Street.
After the public commentary period, which lasted nearly three hours, council began to discuss the matter. There was no item on the agenda with regards to a recommendation or a matter to be voted on, but a motion quickly came about.
Councillor Ernie Margetson drafted a motion and brought it forward to council that suggested the statue be removed from Main Street, stored, and relocated after consultation with the appropriate parties.
“We have to ask ourselves tonight if we want to continue with that on Main Street, who are we as a community, what do we stand for, what are our values? I can support relocation if there’s another public space with proper input from Indigenous people. With that in mind, I’d be willing to make a motion.”
The matter was before council in November of 2020. After a long period of discussion, council voted 12-2 in favour of leaving the statue on Main Street.
With the recent discovery of the bodies of Indigenous children in Kamloops, B.C, the conversation has heated up again.
The statue has faced more vandalism and there have been people protesting at the site of the statue advocating that it be taken away.
Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson spoke about some of the backlash council has received recently regarding the statue.
“I can’t recall any matter that has come before council that has so polarized our community and stirred such emotional responses. Quite apart from the correspondence I mentioned earlier, there’s been threatening and accusatory language over opposing viewpoints, there have been insults about members of council and staff, I could go on. I think it’s illustrative of the emotions that are running very high in the community.”
Councillor Jamie Forrester, who voted to leave the statue on Main Street last November, said that he’d been accused of being racist.
Once Councillor Margetson put his motion forward, councillors debated over some finer points and small tweaks in the language.
Councillor Phil St-Jean expressed his concern over the recent vandalism and crimes that have been committed in the wake of the last few weeks.
“I have difficulty with any group, individual or organization that commits crimes to further their cause. We all know that has occurred in our community and I find that extremely upsetting that people will go to that extreme. We have an obligation to our residents to ensure their safety. When people and organizations take matters into their own hands and commit criminal acts, as have occurred on at least three occasions of vandalism, I believe we need to address that. I, after hearing Councillor Margetson’s suggestion of a motion, I believe that now is the right time to relocate.”
The main concerns of council overall were ensuring that the matter doesn’t simply get pushed back and that the right groups are reached out to for consultation including Indigenous people living in Prince Edward County and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
It was decided after discussion that an appropriate amount of time for staff to come back with a recommendation on a new location is March 31, 2022.
After discussing the wording of the motion, Councillor Margetson presented the final draft.
“That council direct staff to remove the sculpture “Holding Court” from Main Street and place it in a secure temporary storage facility while discussions, with a maximum time frame of March 31, 2022, be undertaken to consider a future public location to occur between the owner, the artist and include an invitation for input from Indigenous people.”
The matter was put to a recorded vote and passed nearly unanimously by a tally of 13-1 with the lone holdout being Councillor Brad Nieman.
The statue is expected to be removed from Picton Main Street in the near future.
