Delays in Queen Victoria statue consultation have become 'disrespectful,' say Kitchener Indigenous community leaders

More than a year has passed since the City of Kitchener announced it was pausing community consultations on the future of the Queen Victoria statue in Victoria Park, and there is still no timeline for a resumption of the process.

The statue has stood in the heart of the downtown park since 1911, but in the last few years there has been an acknowledgement it causes pain to those harmed by colonialism.

Amy Smoke and Bangishimo, the co-directors of the Willow River Centre in downtown Kitchener, have been leading the calls to have the monument removed.

“I think [the city] should doing more,” says Smoke, who is Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan, from the Six Nations of the Grand River. “They certainly had enough time.”

• MORE: Timeline of consultation and controversy over Kitchener's Queen Victoria statue

The statue has been doused with red paint multiple times since July 2021. Each time, the city has cleaned the paint off at the cost of $3,000 to $5,000.

The base of the Queen Victoria statue at Victoria Park in Kitchener is seen covered in red paint on May 5, 2022. (Stephanie Villella/CTV News)

In June 2022, Kitchener city council approved a plan for a year-long community consultation and decision-making process on the statue’s future.

A consultant, Jay Pitter Placemaking, was brought in to run four community engagement sessions in the fall of 2022. One online question and answer session and one in-person witnessing circle were held in November.

Then in January 2023, the city abruptly announced Pitter had completed her work on the project and it was being paused while city staff determined next steps, which would proceed more slowly than originally mapped out.

Since then, there have been no major updates on the project.

'Where do we go from here?'

When asked for a status update in April 2024, the City of Kitchener told CTV in a statement: “Staff continue to review and evaluate next steps with this project using an evidence based, equity-centred and equity-informed approach. There is no further update at this time and the total amount spent so far is $19,519.”

Indigenous artist Bangishimo stands beside an installation in Waterloo on Nov. 23, 2021. (CTV Kitchener)

The city says the costs were for consultant and engagement fees, and honorariums for engaging with knowledge keepers and elders.

Smoke and Bangishimo say none of those payments went to them, though they spent hours preparing background information for the city and Pitter.

Furthermore, they say the decision to pause the consultation process caught them off guard, especially since they say they had a dinner meeting with Pitter the night before the announcement.

“We were left asking ourselves, what’s next? Where do we go from here? And still to this day we have not heard anything from the city,” says Bangishimo.

“We had a wonderful working relationship with Jay Pitter, and it was a little disappointing to see it then wrapped up and phased out and that was it,” says Smoke.

Reconciliation 'put on back burner'

Ahead of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in 2021, signs were installed in front of the statue, acknowledging the pain colonialism has inflicted on First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. The message reads in part: “The City of Kitchener acknowledges that the presence of this statue in Victoria Park may contribute to that ongoing harm.”

Smoke says the signage paired with the lack of action is an insult.

“It’s so insulting to say we know it causes trauma and pain, but we’re going to do nothing about it,” says Smoke. “That is… a non-apology. Remove the statue and remove the pain and the trauma.”

A worker power washes the base of the Queen Victoria statue. (File photo/CTV Kitchener)

Donna Dubie, executive director of the Healing of the Seven Generations in Kitchener, agrees the statue should have come down some time ago.

“Truth is out there,” Dubie told CTV Kitchener in a telephone interview. “People are becoming familiar with the truth… but when it comes to reconciliation, that has been put on the back burner.”

Dubie says removing the statue would be an act of reconciliation, and seeing the project’s long pause is discouraging.

“When you have conversation and then there’s a dead space and there’s nothing and nothing for months and months and months, it’s not only discouraging or disheartening but it becomes disrespectful,” says Dubie.

Ward councillor responds

Debbie Chapman, the city councillor for Ward 9, which includes Victoria Park, says the community is still very divided on the subject of the statue.

Chapman says some constituents want the statue removed, others want to keep it, and others would like to add some contextualization or Indigenous art or content to the immediate area.

“So what’s important now is for staff to come back with their findings from the consultation that they did,” says Chapman.

Chapman says she does not know when that could happen.

“They’re going to have to come back at some point, and then, you know, it will be discussed again publicly and through council.”

The Queen Victoria Statue in Kitchener's Victoria Park is seen on April 26, 2024. (Krista Simpson/CTV Kitchener)

Chapman acknowledges that the longer the process is paused, the more likely it is that the statue will be covered in red paint again.

“That’s not what we’d like to see but it’s also a reflection of the division that exists within society… on this topic and the frustration some people are feeling with our inaction perhaps, and all the fact the Queen is still there and they’re not seeing any changes.”

Bangishimo says the city needs to take the statue down.

“They know it needs to be done. Part of reconciliation is to remove the statues, remove these colonial statues,” they say.

The city’s timeline and details on the work done thus far can be found at Queen Victoria Statue Initiative | EngageWR.