Queen's University removes Sir John A. Macdonald's name from law school building

Queen's University removes Sir John A. Macdonald's name from law school building
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Queen's University has made the decision to rename its Sir John A. Macdonald Hall law school building, following a number of calls across the country to rename any commemorations made to Canada's first prime minister.

Kingston, Ontario, Mcdonald's hometown and where the University is located, saw protests this summer demanding the removal of his statue in the city. One protester was even charged with assaulting Rebel reporter David Menzies while he was covering the story.

Outside of the Ontario legislature in Toronto, a Macdonald statue has been covered in an effort to placate protesters; Another was toppled in downtown Montreal this past August.

Queen's principal and vice-chancellor Patrick Deane said, “this decision is grounded in the university’s present-day academic mission and commitment to honour the values of equity, diversity, and inclusivity and to ensure all students, faculty, and staff feel welcome within the Queen’s community.”

Deane went on to say that “It also supports our commitment to take action to address systemic racism and ensure every member of our community may enjoy the benefits of our institution equally.”

Following directives, the law school organised an advisory committee in July to determine how it should respond to an online petition with more than 4,600 signatures calling for a name change.

Public consultations with over 3,000 people, spanning two months, led to the drafting of a 65-page report that recommended the name of the Sir John A. Macdonald Hall law school building be changed.

The university plans to undertake a separate process for renaming the law school building, with principal Deane presenting his recommendations to the school's board of trustees in the coming months.

To support the continued honouring of Sir John A. Macdonald, and to stop these kinds of renaming and erasing missions, you can sign our petition at SaveJohnA.com!

When we've achieved our goal, the petition will be presented to local governments, schools or wherever else is planning to remove their commemoration to the father of Canada's Confederation.

 

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  • By Tamara Ugolini

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