Council to entertain ‘interpretive signage’ at five contentious Hamilton monuments

Hamilton's emergency and community services committee is recommending council add interpretive signage at contentious monuments and markers to better explain their historical contexts.

The committee voted unanimously Thursday to heed some recommendations tabled in a report about how to address sites in the city while respecting Indigenous perspectives and voices.

Among the recommendations - which council will vote on next week - are hiring an Indigenous curatorial team and two Indigenous community liaisons, along with erecting interpretive signage at five designated sites.

The high priority" monuments and markers include:

• The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Gore Park;

• The statue of Queen Victoria, also in Gore Park;

• The statue of Augustus Jones, a 1790s-era land surveyor who was born in the United States but loyal to the British crown, in Stoney Creek;

• Monuments that commemorate the United Empire Loyalists, also in Stoney Creek; and

• The Ryerson Recreation Centre - named for Egerton Ryerson, a 19th century Ontario educator whose work has been considered the framework of the residential school system - near downtown.

Adding signage to the contentious sites would demonstrate respect and humility on the part of the city towards the Indigenous community and the public who are calling for more diverse narratives to be told through interpretation and commemoration," the committee wrote in its report bound for council.

The recommendations come days after Mayor Fred Eisenberger said the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald - in storage since it was toppled by protesters in August - shouldn't stay hidden away.

There are elements out there that want to eliminate all of these historical pieces and start from square one. I don't think that has value," Eisenberger said during an anti-racism event at city hall April 29. If the bronze statue of Canada's first prime minister were to be reinstalled, he added, it would need a display explaining the controversial figure's history.

Macdonald played a prominent role in establishing Canada's government-funded, church-run residential school system, which has since been labelled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as an act of cultural genocide" against First Nations, Inuit and Metis.

Last July, council shot down a motion to temporarily remove the statue and place it in storage pending an Indigenous-led review of city monuments and markers.

A month later, protesters tore the statue down during a rally of about 200 people at Gore Park. It's been in storage ever since.

The plaque that is (recommended) to go to Gore Park to educate the public is a great idea, but I'm against any proposal to erect the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald," said Miguel Avila-Valarde, one of two delegates who addressed the committee Thursday.

Avila-Valarde - who was charged with mischief for his role in toppling the statue last summer - said he supports the recommendations to add signage around designated monuments, but asked council to consider putting them in museums so people can remember the good things in the past but also the bad."

The committee's recommendations are based on a report by First Peoples Group, an Indigenous advisory firm which reviewed hundreds of monuments across Hamilton.

Dubbed Honouring Our Roots," the report specifically asked the city not to relocate or reinstall the Macdonald statue. Instead, its remaining pieces should be removed to allow space for a reimagination of the site," including a cleansing ceremony.

These are the points I did not see in the (staff report)," said Lyndon George, executive director of the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre.

George said the committee's recommendations are a path forward" to building deeper trust between council and Indigenous residents. But not heeding them would put those consultation and relationship-building priorities at risk."

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com