Don’t judge historic figures without knowledge of our history
Last fall, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario demanded that Sir John A. Macdonald’s name be stricken from all public schools in the province. More recently, Halifax city council voted to remove the Edward Cornwallis statue that had stood downtown since 1931. Both decisions were vigorously debated and public opinion remains sharply divided.
These are separate events about two different individuals. Nevertheless, the underlying theme is the same. Macdonald and Cornwallis stand accused of crimes against Indigenous people. Macdonald played a role in the establishment of residential schools while Cornwallis offered a bounty to anyone who captured or killed a Mi’kmaq person.
However, Macdonald and Cornwallis also have many defenders since both made significant contributions to their communities.
In order to think critically about Macdonald and Cornwallis, we need to know a lot of facts.