Goldie Ghamari - Question Period - Sir John A MacDonald Statue in Victoria, BC

00:00:00.000 Mr. Speaker, last week I was shocked to read that the City of Victoria intended to take

00:00:16.360 down a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald. These attempts to erase parts of our history do

00:00:22.700 nothing to educate people and are only political correctness run amok. Can the Minister inform

00:00:29.500 the House what our government intends to do to preserve John A. Macdonald's legacy

00:00:34.460 and encourage a more fulsome teaching of Canadian history.

00:00:43.980 Thank you to the member from Carleton for her question. It's an important one.

00:00:48.220 Sir John A. Macdonald plays a central role in our national story. He did more to

00:00:52.860 found our nation than any other father of confederation and in fact we would not be

00:00:59.660 debating here today without sir john a that's why our government wrote to the mayor of victoria to

00:01:04.780 say we'd be happy to give sir john a a new home here in ontario members will note when they depart

00:01:13.740 this chamber the first portrait you see is of course the fathers of confederation and a statue

00:01:20.060 of our first Prime Minister stands proudly at the southern end of the grounds of Queen's Park.

00:01:24.860 History matters, and we need to acknowledge the important role Sir John A. Macdonald

00:01:29.980 played in Canada and Ontario's history.

00:01:38.780 Mr. Speaker, back to the Minister. I thank the Minister for her answer. 1867 was a different

00:01:45.420 time, and we should not judge our Founding Fathers solely on the knowledge we possess

00:01:50.240 today. As the famous saying goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat

00:01:55.640 it. To quote Minister Smith's letter, he says that we should be treating John A. Macdonald's

00:02:02.020 legacy as a better way to learn our own history. Can the Minister tell the House how bringing

00:02:08.540 the statue of John A. Macdonald to Ontario would help Ontarians with our complicated

00:02:14.280 history. Again, through the Speaker, thank you to the member for her question. There's no denying

00:02:25.080 that Sir John A.'s role in our history is a cause for much discussion, because history is

00:02:30.240 complicated. People are complicated. But there is no doubt that 125 years ago, after his death,

00:02:37.740 our first Prime Minister stands as an important Canadian within the creation of our country.

00:02:43.480 We encourage Ontarians to learn more about our first Prime Minister by visiting statues

00:02:48.720 like the one with historic sites that are cited throughout Ontario, including at the

00:02:54.980 front of Queen's Park.

00:02:55.980 Thank you.

Goldie Ghamari - October 03, 2018