The Activities Of Macdonald - The First Prime Minister Of Canada
Macdonald’s…
Not Lovin’ It Sir John A. Macdonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada and is recognized greatly for his achievements, most popularly, the building and construction of the transcontinental railway. His life is sharply defined by words like courage, bravery and character.
However, there is a much darker and cynical side of this founding father, a comparatively unpopular perspective that is often overlooked in the midst of his commemoration and celebrations; his cruelty and distaste towards Canada’s ethnic minorities. It is his hidden but unforgotten past of architecting and creating a system of federal schools that could be used to control Indigenous lifeways that has surfaced through historical revisionism; society’s changing interpretation of history.
An uncomfortable belittling feeling resides with Indigenous communities who feel threatened by his monuments that stand proudly, to them, representing the unjust suffering of their ancestors and families. Any confederate statue that alienates or offends the rights of people should be removed by the government who should exercise their power to dismantle such statues and work more proactively in ensuring an individual’s safety in Canada.
John A. Macdonald is blamed in big parts, for instigating Canada’s rocky relationship with its Indigenous members. Since then, Canada has tried to extend its constitutional protection to Indigenous people, but the socio-economic disparities between Aboriginal communities and non-Aboriginal Canadians remain at large. This broken relationship will remain unchanged and worsened if monuments that encouraged their unfair treatment remain standing. A figure who played the instrumental role of initiating and supporting the residential school system, a hostile act that was even criticized by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper who then issued an apology, is not a figure to be displayed on the forefront of Canadian representation.
Deciding that Indigenous people were ‘barbaric’ or ‘savage’ and did not have a place in this country may have been the standard outlook of his times, but that does not make his intent any less malicious and is not an outlook that should be accepted in a society that is now known for preaching fairness and equality. The CBC News article titled, ‘Should John A. Macdonald’s name be removed from schools? It is at least a question worth asking’ confronts the good and bad aspects of Sir John A. Macdonald and quotes Patrice Dutil, a historian at Ryerson University who argues that, “[His actions] can be explained in the context of their times.”
It is relatively simple to draw a line that distinguishes basic rights from wrongs, and the minute someone, especially an impactful leader, decides that systematic discrimination can be tolerated, is when Canadians should put their foot down. A colonizing mission that lacked humility cannot be justified to be an acceptable plan from a ‘man of his times’ if it can be so easily proven that denigrating groups of peoples is a breach of basic human rights, regardless of what morals or norms were of the time.
Governments should exercise their power to dismantle such historical monuments especially when current thought no longer reflects the same values. The main argument opposing the removal of John A. Macdonald’s statue is the concern of erasing history. This argument is baseless as many antagonizing characters of history are remembered without the placement of offensive monuments and memorials.
Perhaps it is the archetype founders portray of being heroic and charismatic that leads people to believe that John A. Macdonald is the same, but the reality is that not every leader is a hero. Governments work to serve the people, and if the people demand that an antagonizing stature be removed, it should be rightfully done. Never should citizens feel threatened by an architectural piece.
