Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Murray Sinclair - Action News
Home WebMail Saturday, November 23, 2024, 10:16 AM | Calgary | -12.0°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Toronto

Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Murray Sinclair

The former chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says tearing down tributes that are considered offensive to Indigenous Peoples would be "counterproductive" because it smacks of anger, not harmony.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chair Justice Murray Sinclair says time would be better spent discussing the need to honour and elevate Indigenous heroes. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The former chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says tearing down tributes that are considered offensive to Indigenous Peoples would be "counterproductive" because it smacks of anger, not harmony.

Sen. Murray Sinclair says the debate over whether to remove Sir John A. Macdonald's name from Ontario schools is time that would be better spent discussing the need to honour and elevate Indigenous heroes.

Sinclair's remarks come after an Ontario teachers union passed a controversial motion calling for the rechristening of schools named after Canada's first prime minister, accusing Macdonald of advocating Indigenous genocide.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Sinclair calls that approach a recipe for fighting and rancour.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there are no plans to remove Macdonald's name from buildings or sites that are in the purview of the federal government.

In June, Trudeau decided to remove the name of Hector-Louis Langevin, a father of Confederation and architect of the residential school system, from the Ottawa building that houses the Prime Minister's Office.