Prince Edward County to celebrate Canada Day differently this year

The municipality of Prince Edward County says it will still go ahead with offering funding for already planned Canada Day celebrations, even though the local committee tasked with planning the day has backed out of this year’s events.

The Canada Day Committee, a volunteer group that usually hosts the day’s celebrations, announced last week that it would not host events this year out of respect for ongoing truth and reconciliation process with Indigenous Peoples.

It was a decision made in light of the discovery of 215 children’s bodies found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., and the discussions sparked by that discovery on how Canada has treated Indigenous Peoples.

These same discussions led to the removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Picton last week.

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Despite usual events not going ahead, the municipality still has funding allocated for Canada Day festivities and is looking to invest that funding “into local artists and programming that honours the diverse history of Canada.”

“Options are limited given the short notice of the Canada Day Committee and the requirement that the funding be used for activities happening on July 1; however, the municipality expects to make an announcement in the coming days,” a news release from Prince Edward County said Thursday.

Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson said he respects the committee’s decision, but that the county will still look for ways to celebrate the day in two weeks.

“Canada Day is about much more than marking the anniversary of Confederation. It’s a celebration of the ideals we strive to uphold as Canadians, those of freedom, dignity, and respect for all,” Ferguson said.

1:47 Some say there should be no Canada Day celebrations

The committee had not planned in-person activities this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but had intended to erect art installations in Picton and Wellington using Celebrate Canada grant funding that the municipality received from the government of Canada.

Though the committee decided to not move ahead with those installations this year, the municipality decided to cover the artists’ costs using existing community grant funds.

Also on July 1, Prince Edward County will launch an online public consultation to help plan the future of Canada Day celebrations.