It will be one year to the day on Saturday that the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald was removed from City Park and placed in storage.
The statue was taken down after a 12-day, round-the-clock protest at the statue’s location in the park.
Lisa Cadue, a Mohawk woman was one of those protesters calling for the statue’s removal.
“I was tired of people saying that they didn’t feel comfortable in their own skin in Kingston because every time they would go to take their parents that were here from out of town for walks while they’re doing their treatments here, it was a flashback. It’s like PTSD, it just slaps you in the face,” said Cadue.
Cadue says she feels the municipal council is making an effort to address issues like colonization.
“We have an Indigenous market now every Sunday down at market square. That shows, you know, they are doing stuff for our people. It takes time and we’ve got time. We’ve got patience” said Cadue.
Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson says the focus on addressing the needs of the city’s Indigenous residents goes beyond the statue’s removal.
“You know, there’s all kinds of debate and discussion about a statue, but I also heard from Indigenous residents that said, ‘What we really need to talk about is housing and social services and cultural supports,’ and so I think that’s really where our focus has been,” Paterson told Global Kingston.
Paterson says after extensive community consultation, the plan to relocate the Macdonald statue to the Cataraqui Cemetery still stands.
“It’s really full steam ahead with the decision that council made last year, but on the cemetery’s timeline,” said Paterson.
Paterson estimates the statue probably won’t be installed in the Cataraqui Cemetery until 2023.