Decisions, decisions

People charged with making decisions know that the more information one has, the better the decision. It was no different in the 1860s and 70s. When John A Macdonald was faced with a decision about what would be best for our indigenous people, he relied on the most up-to-date thinking he could find, and there was a strong feeling at the time that the best outcomes for indigenous people would be found in the Candian mainstream. Add to that the Victorian proclivity for altruism and the decision to create residential schools was one that was intended to benefit the indigenous people.  When we look back now on those decisions, we see it as paternalistic or worse, but the intentions were honourable enough. That it turned out badly cannot in fairness be blamed on John A. Macdonald. The intention was not to create misery and hardship but that is, unfortunately, the outcome.

As far as John A's statue is concerned, rather than removing remnants of our past, let's add monuments, symbols and relics acknowledging realities other than the dominant culture.