Public spaces shouldn’t immortalize colonial ideologies.
Canada’s home to many institutions, streets, and geographic locations named after controversial Canadian figures who perpetuated racist and colonial ideologies. Since 2020, there’s been a call for action from members of the Canadian public for the removal of statues and landmarks named after problematic political figures such as Egerton Ryerson and Henry Dundas. On the other side, some Canadians want the statues back up, arguing that the statues are a good way to remember our country’s forefathers. If we want to live in a progressive and inclusive nation, we must stop glorifying the figures who’ve done horrible things to other people.
However, the sentiment to remove controversial figures from public spaces isn’t necessarily black and white. There’s been pushback against the public’s call to action, including an urging to replace taken down statues and to halt the renaming of Toronto public schools. The pro-monument sentiment is led by individuals who argue that by removing these monuments and denominations, Canadians are erasing history.
The commitment to departing from naming Canadian landmarks after problematic historical figures isn’t about erasing the past or ignoring the valuable contributions they made to Canadian society. Rather, it’s about understanding that certain historical figures aren’t one-dimensional, and it’s impossible to memorialize them as a pillar of Canadian life without recognizing the harm they contributed to as well.
In 2021, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) changed its name to depart from its connection with Egerton Ryerson, because of his influence on the creation of the residential school system. It’s important to separate a publicly funded institution from the Ryerson name, as his values don’t connect with principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion that help foster a just society Canadians claim to uphold.
The crux of the problem with keeping up monuments and honorifics named after any historical figure is the implication that this person is a pillar of society. Promoting their character in such a public manner promotes all their ideas, good or bad.
Keeping the name of Egerton Ryerson as the face of an internationally ranked university signposts that as Canadians, Ryerson’s values are ones that we uphold, or at the very least find excusable.
In late 2023, the Toronto City Council approved plans to rename the public library, subway stations, and square, named after Henry Dundas. Dundas and his geographic namesakes have been at the forefront of the name change movement because of his involvement in delaying the abolition of the British Empire’s transatlantic slave trade.
Removing statues and undertaking name changes isn’t about erasing history. Instead, it’s about realizing these historical figures aren’t monolithic and have contributed negatively and positively to our country. In that way, it would be remiss if Canada continued its glorification of controversial historical figures, erasing their wrongdoings in favour of their positive contributions.
If Canadians want to continue building better relationships with groups who have been marginalized by colonial powers, an important first step should be to stop honouring those who have contributed to the problem and instead work to make sure everyone feels represented in Canada.
Claire is third-year English student and The Journal’s Assistant Photo Editor
Tags
History, Renaming, Southern Ontario, statues
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Zedrick Serson
What is it with liberals and constantly trying to make themselves look guilty when they’re not doing anything wrong? “an important first step should be to stop honouring those who have contributed to the problem” is a wild thing to say in the same breath as rejecting the idea that removing statues is erasing history. The fact of the matter is that Sir John A MacDonald, as much of a genocidal shithead as he was, is an important part of Canadian history. Even engaging with the idea that statue removal could be erasure of history is a disgrace to reconciliation.