Queen Victoria statue consultation wraps up first stage with City of Kitchener
The City of Kitchener says they have wrapped up the first phase of consultation regarding a controversial statue in a public park.
The repeated vandalism of the Queen's Statue in Victoria Park prompted the city to launch a community engagement campaign in the fall to consider the statue's future.
The plan outlined four events being mediated by placemaker and author Jay Pitter. One event was done through Instagram live and was followed by an in-person witnessing circle in November.
Two further sessions were planned for early 2023.
The city is now temporarily pausing engagement, plans to gather feedback from participants on the process so far, and says that Pitter's portion of the process has been completed.
“She's provided really valuable advice through the process, but part of the recommendation was to really engage in local facilitators to make sure we have that local dialogue as we move forward with the final recommendation,” said Justin Readman, the City of Kitchener’s general manager of development services.
The city adds that Pitter introduced the witnessing circle to get different perspectives from the community and also outlined a safer small table engagement approach to get more feedback.
Phase two of the consultation plan will move more slowly, as advised by Pitter, and be led by local community engagement facilitators.
The focus of the next phase will be to centre the voices of Indigenous, Black, and racialized community members.
Two more public engagement sessions will be held before a recommendation goes to council.
A date for those public meetings has not been set.
Consultations and an eventual decision on the statue's fate was anticipated to take about a year and cost between $15,000 to $30,000.
“We've been acting very fluid throughout the whole project,” said Readman. “We want to be reactive and nimble to understand the best needs and the best ways to make sure that we are able to consult and engage with the community as we move forward with a recommendation that people can find something to be part of because we know that we are not going to find a solution that satisfies everyone in this process.”
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY RESPONDS
Some local members of the Indigenous community who have been very active in the project shared a statement with CTV News on Tuesday that said in part:
"We appreciated working with Jay Pitter, and although this ‘pause’ was unanticipated, we are committed to continuing conversations about the future of the Queen Victoria Statue. We are eager to continue working with the City of Kitchener on this initiative and await their announcement on next steps," said the statement from those with the Land Back Camp.
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.
"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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.