Scott Thompson: Blaming John A. for residential schools is easier than accepting that’s how we were

The City of Victoria removed its statue of Canada’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, because above all of his accomplishments, he was the architect of residential schools.

Victoria has yet to decide what to do with the statue, but has turned down an offer from Ontario Premiere Doug Ford to take it off their hands.

​Anti John A. activists make it sound as if Macdonald, who started the residential system along with the aid of the Catholic and Anglican churches, was a dictator and acted alone in such decisions.

Quite the opposite. He was the Dominion of Canada’s first democratically elected PM, which would suggest Canadians of the day felt the same way he did, or at least thought they were helping the cause.

Do we banish our ancestors, too, and those who have kept quiet for over 100 years?

Perhaps it’s easier to blame “one” man than it is to accept this was the way “all” of us were back then.

Now, thankfully, times are different, and it has nothing to do with statues. It’s called progress.

I would suggest there is more to learn from a statue we see every day, than one in a museum visited by a few who may already know the history.

Statues commemorate the past (warts and all). We should learn from them and encourage discussion, not remove them for fear of the present political correctness of the day.

Scott Thompson is the host of The Scott Thompson Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.