City of Kitchener looking for community feedback on fate of Queen Victoria statue

The City of Kitchener is launching a new initiative to explore the impacts of the Queen Victoria statue in Victoria Park, and it’s hoping community input can help decide the statue’s fate.

According to a news release, the City of Kitchener is calling it an “equity-driven engagement and education process”.

The city is pushing for community engagement to unpack multiple perspectives and options related to the future of the statue.

“If you're going to promote the spirit of reconciliation at city hall, you should listen to us, you should listen to the Indigenous peoples,” said Bangishimo, the child of a residential school survivor.

“The process will provide opportunities for the community to provide input while prioritizing the voices of Indigenous, Black, and racialized community members,” the news release said.

The city has partnered with Jay Pitter Placemaking, a practice that mitigates growing socio-spatial divides across several North American cities.

“Having led projects and conducted extensive research related to historically fraught sites and symbols, I understand that there is no single solution or right approach. My goal is to create space for local knowledge to be centred, respectfully listen to diverse perspectives that build our capacity, and equally important, compassion,” Jay Pitter, principal placemaker and lead consultant on the Queen Victoria Statue Initiative said in the news release.

The city said the goal of this new initiative is to have meaningful conversations with community members and allow them to share their perspectives, consider new ideas and explore new approaches for the statue.

“These kinds of processes are inherently uncomfortable, evoking a complex range of emotions. However, discomfort is also the precursor to growth and positive transformation. This is my hope for all of us, individually and collectively,” Pitter said.

The city is inviting community members to participate in the following events:

• Ask Jay Anything Instagram live session
  Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, from 12 - 1 p.m.
• Community discussion: Witnessing circle
  Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, from 5:30 - 8 p.m. at the Kitchener Market
• Community discussion: Placemaking options presentation and engagement
  Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, from 5:30 – 8 p.m. at the Kitchener Market
• Community discussion: Closing circle and evaluation
  Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, from 5:30 - 8 p.m. at the Kitchener Market

Registration is required. For more information, visit their website.  

 A CONTROVERSIAL PAST

The statue has been vandalized and covered in red paint several times over the years. It happened for the fourth time at the end of May 2022.

The city told CTV News the last time it cleaned paint off the statue on May 16, it cost $5,000.

Multiple calls have been made to remove the statue due to its connection with Canada’s colonialist past.

Renewed calls came in the wake of hundreds of unmarked graves found at former residential schools across the county last summer.

"We're idolizing these colonial figures that built this country off of the backs and blood of Indigenous people and Black folks as well," Amy Smoke, co-founder of Land Back Camp and a member of Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan from the Six Nations of the Grand River told CTV News in May.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

After the four public discussions, a staff report will be presented to council.

“There are a few options here, of course, removal is an option, contextualization is an option, and then also a having a response piece to the statue is an option,” Pitter told CTV News in an interview on Wednesday. “Culture and history will be at the centre of this discussion. People who have lived experience both historical and current, their voices will be prioritized during this process.”

Pitter said all perspectives are welcome – no matter what the statue means to you.

“Having the statue here is harmful, so it needs to be removed,” Bangishimo said.