So Mayor Lisa Helps and the “family” have decided that the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald must be removed from public view, given his unsavoury opinions and actions. Helps must realize that this is only the first step on a long, long journey.
For example, the very name of Victoria raises serious issues. Quite apart from the fact that the queen would almost certainly have approved of the residential schools, the name Victoria is synonymous with the concept of brutal Western imperialism and all the unacceptable results that it implies.
Clearly, the word “Victoria” should no longer be used until the family has had an opportunity to “re-contextualize” it. Another entirely necessary step would be to examine all street names that are associated with men who were in public office. All of these names reek of a time of patriarchal oppression and, as such, have no place in our modern sensitive society. Blanshard and Douglas and the rest of their ilk must go.
There is just no end to this insightful cleansing.
John Sutherland
Victoria
