Crews have begun efforts to take down the statue of Edward Cornwallis from a Halifax park, one day after council voted to temporarily remove it.
Scaffolding was being put up on Wednesday morning around the controversial statue.
READ MORE: Edward Cornwallis considered: The man behind Halifax’s divisive debate
Cornwallis is a disputed character seen by some as a brave leader who founded Halifax but by others as the commander of a bloody and barbaric extermination campaign against Mi’kmaq inhabitants.
The statue has been the site of various protests, and the call to remove it has grown in recent years.
A staff report suggested the statue could be taken down and stored at a cost of about $25,000. It also said it is concerned about rising tensions around the statue, citing a planned protest Sunday that could result in “damage to the statue, conflicts among protesters and counter-protesters and personal injury.”
WATCH: Halifax council votes to temporarily remove Edward Cornwallis statue
On Tuesday, council voted 12-4 to temporarily place the statue in storage until a decision is made on its long-term fate.
On Facebook, organizers with the protest said the event was still going on, but as a rally to celebrate council’s decision.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
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