By Pepper Parr
July 9th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The Standing Committee on Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services met earlier this week and almost swooned as they listened to Stephen Paquette talk about why the Ryerson school and the park adjacent to it should be renamed.
The Councillors and the two school board trustees who took part as delegations were like high school students listening to a rock star.
Stephen Paquette.
Paquette on the other hand was sensible and balanced.
Sure he took a strong position on the getting rid of the Ryerson name but he said he could live with statues of Sir John remaining providing there was a plaque beside the statue putting the man’s role in context.
Unfortunately many are not as sensible and balanced as Paquette.
He taught the Councillors some important lessons; one being the way we choose to elevate some people and create a statue and put it in a public place without a full understanding of the person. He seemed to be saying the statues were more adulation than realistic accounting of the person.
The fear I have is that we will rename the park and the school and then move on to something else forgetting what the real issue is – first making amends for the harm we created and then giving the Indigenous people what they deserve. Decent housing and water they can drink.
A number of years ago Gord Downie stood on a stage and implored the Prime Minister who was in the audience to take care of the Indigenous people. And how much has been done for those people since that time?
I look to Paquette being the person who keeps our feet to the flame and helps us get to the point where the members of the First Nation are true equals.
I was impressed with the man – he is an Elder serving as a staff consultant with the Halton District School Board. He is an excellent spokesperson for his people.
Joseph Boyden, wrote a book: The Orenda. It is a hard book to read on the relationship between the Jesuits who came to Canada to civilize the “savages”. There was painful cruelty on both sides. Boyden created significant controversy writing on Indigenous people. Boyden is primarily of Irish and Scottish ancestry. A number of Indigenous writers and researchers came forward to publicly state Boyden did not have the right to speak on behalf of any Indigenous community because he was not a First Nations citizen and ultimately not Indigenous.
We are going to be dogged with controversy on the question of how we atone for some time. Hopefully the plight of the Indigenous people gets improved while we squabble.
Salt with Pepper is the musings, reflections and opinions of the publisher of the Burlington Gazette, an online newspaper that was formed in 2010 and is a member of the National Newsmedia Council.
“The fear I have is that we will rename the park and the school and then move on to something else forgetting what the real issue is – first making amends for the harm we created and then giving the Indigenous people what they deserve. Decent housing and water they can drink.”
Mr. Paquette, in his last sentence sums it up. Will what is happening with removing statues etc. amount to more than just that? Money needs to be spent in the Indigenous Communities to provide a healthy environment for all.
Good article
Once again Mayor and Council spend more time virtue signalling than actual city issues . I believe renaming schools is a school board issue and nothing to doe with Council. Smarten up MMW and fellow puppets
History can be a great teacher if we don’t ignore or edit the parts that are uncomfortable. And lets not forget that Pierre Elliott Trudeau did not end the residential schools when he had a chance to do so as Prime Minister.
https://theconversation.com/pierre-trudeaus-failures-on-indigenous-rights-tarnish-his-legacy-162167
Did Mr Paquette touch on the subject of removing Joseph Brants name from our hospital and Main Street?
I agree it was terrible what came to light about all the bodies found buried in schools it should never have happened. It is a mystery this was not found at the time, someone MUST have known it was being done, just terrible. But what is happening now with statues being pulled down and being defaced will not do anyone any good. As for J.A. he did more good than anyone of his time. He set the course for what we in Canada are today, a first class Country.
The Government should be stronger and stop what is going on today, I blame them for not going after those responsible The few should not be allowed to get away with what has been done.
Nancy, the death rate of indigenous children was reported in 1907 by Dr. Peter Bryce, the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of the Interior. His report showed that 1/4 of all indigenous children attending residential schools had died from tuberculosis. He indicated that poor ventilation and poor standards of care by school officials were the primary causes. And what did the Liberal government of Wilfred Laurier do? NOTHING! And the Conservative government of Sir Robert Borden also did NOTHING! Duncan Campbell who was deputy Superintendant General of Indian Affairs in 1913 then cut Bryce’s budget and was largely responsible for dead-ending Bryce’s career. In 1922, Bryce at his own expense, published his data in a pamphlet entitled, “The Story of a National Crime”. While it is convenient for our current PM to focus attention on the Catholic Church who ran the residential schools as the main culprit (and it is true that they should bear SOME of the responsibility), the greater culprit is the Canadian government who knew, could have stopped it, but did NOTHING.