Spend time honouring Indigenous heroes rather than debating Macdonald: Sinclair
OTTAWA — Tearing down tributes to historical figures would be “counterproductive” to reconciliation efforts between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, says the former chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Sen. Murray Sinclair, who spent six years documenting the long-standing impacts of Canada’s residential school system, says the debate over whether to remove Sir John A. Macdonald’s name from Ontario elementary schools takes up time that could be better spent exploring how to honour and elevate Indigenous heroes.
“It is not about taking off names off buildings, it is about whether we can find a way to put Indigenous names on buildings,” Sinclair said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“The problem I have with the overall approach to tearing down statues and buildings is that is counterproductive to … reconciliation because it almost smacks of revenge or smacks of acts of anger, but in reality, what we are trying to do, is we are trying to create more balance in the relationship.”