Thank you Mayor Lisa Helps and the councillors of the City of Victoria for taking down the statue of John A. MacDonald. I want to recognize their courage and commitment to reconciliation in this country. As a resident of Cochrane, I was absolutely horrified of Town of Cochrane's Coun. Morgan J. Nagel's desire to have the statue moved to our community given the devastating history and horrific impact that the above individual has had on Indigenous people across this country. This request was made without thought, care or consultation of stakeholders in this town. His lack of awareness in regards to anti-oppression and anti-racist analysis is disappointing to say the least. John A. Macdonald needs to be remembered by our society in the future, but not celebrated for anything. A good home for him would be in a display in the Canadian Human Rights Museum outlining the atrocious impact that the policies had from their inception until today. Thanks again to the mayor of Victoria and the councillors who supported this brave move toward making our country whole again through practising reconciliation and thanks for refusing Coun. Nagel’s request. Dolly Ablitt
