A Prince Edward County committee is recommending the removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald statue in the heart of Picton, Ont.
The working group was struck by the municipality on July 13 to review the statue first erected in Picton in 2015, depicting Macdonald presenting his first case in the local courthouse in 1834.
The group is made up of a member of the municipality’s heritage committee, a representative of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, a member of All Welcome Here, a local anti-racism group, a member of the Sir John A. MacDonald Project, the group that originally lobbied for the statue, a local museum member and a member of the public chosen by the heritage committee.
Earlier this year, the Picton statue was the target of several acts of vandalism. Across the country, statues and memorials of Canada’s first prime minister have come under fire due to Macdonald’s treatment of Indigenous people and his involvement in residential schools.
The municipality sought out public input on the matter and this was reviewed by the working group, who were then meant to make their decision within the scope of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 10 Principles of Truth and Reconciliation.
Tuesday, the group recommended that the statue be held in storage while the municipality decides what to do with it. This recommendation will now go to the Prince Edward Heritage Advisory committee Oct. 27. That committee will then provide their own recommendations to Prince Edward County council Nov. 17.