The Star reports…… Queen’s University will remove the name of Canada’s first prime minister from the building that houses its law school, the university said Monday.
The university’s board of trustees approved the decision to strip Sir John A. Macdonald’s name from the building following a recommendation from law school dean Mark Walters and a report from a special committee.
In a statement posted on its website, the university said the decision to rename the building followed a two-month public consultation process that saw more than 3,000 members of the Queen’s community submit feedback.
“In particular, we now have a richer and better understanding of the hurtful views and policies (Macdonald) and his government advanced in relation to Indigenous peoples and racial minorities,” Walters said in the written statement.
Macdonald, also known as “Father of Confederation,” has been criticized for his role at the head of a government that created the Indian Act and established the residential school system that removed Indigenous children from their families, as well as his racist comments about Indigenous Peoples.
In July, Black Lives Matter protesters poured pink paint on Macdonald’s statue at Queen’s Park, while calling for the defunding of police, and an end to white supremacy and anti-Black racism. In August, protesters in Montreal toppled and defaced a statue of Macdonald.
Earlier this month, the Star reported on Library and Archives Canada’s omission of early prime ministers’ racist policies in their official profiles hosted on the government of Canada website.
The agency has since posted notes above the Macdonald and Wilfrid Laurier pages saying they are “archived on the web,” though the content remains the same.
