Published in Barrie Today, 4 June 2025
LETTER: Sir John A’s record leaves little reason to honour him on pedestal
Letter writer Melanie Duckett-Wilson (“Sir John A’s record leaves little reason to honour him on pedestal,” Barrie Today, 2 June) must live in a very special world, where nothing bad ever happens. A lot of people in the past have done things that we consider pretty dreadful by today’s standards. However, we need to acknowledge they were people of their times, and their treatment of minority communities was in line with the general attitudes of society. Some honestly believed they were doing the right thing at the time. None of that makes it right, however, but we are being dishonest with ourselves if we don’t acknowledge that fact.
It’s easy for us to say, in 2025, that we would have been one of the few socially progressive people who opposed the general consensus of society, myself included, but we likely would have just gone along with the mainstream attitudes. Don’t forget, Tommy Douglas, the “father of socialized Medicare in Canada,” advocated for labeling homosexuality as a mental illness in his day. Ironically, this was a very progressive opinion because homosexuality was considered a criminal offence at the time, so despite the repugnant nature of this opinion by today’s standards, it was actually a step forward. He also supported eugenics, so there’s that too.
Slavery was once socially acceptable, and celebrated Mohawk warrior and political leader Chief Joseph Brant was a slave owner in his time. Should we remove his name from Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington, box up any statues of him, and change the names of Brant County and the City of Brantford?
I could go on listing other people, but I think you get the point.
For historical figures like Macdonald, Brant and Douglas, it doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate their positive accomplishments. Of course, it’s fair that we should make conspicuous note of their failings, for added context. Taking down the wooden coffin around Macdonald’s statue is the right thing to do, but we should also leave it right where it currently stands. Beside it, install a plaque listing all his negative and positives, but leave him right there.
Sources: LETTER: Sir John A’s record leaves little reason to honour him on pedestal – Barrie News.
