Conservatives' Letter to City of Victoria does not help reconciliation

August 13, 2018

TORONTO — Mike Schreiner issued the following statement in response to the letter sent by the Ontario Government to the Mayor of Victoria:

“Why is the Ford government spending time taking shots at cities that aren’t in our province? As if meddling in Toronto’s local elections wasn’t enough, Premier Ford is now telling the City of Victoria how to make decisions.

The discussions about how to recognize historical figures in public spaces are sensitive and complex. And they are important for coming to terms with our colonial past. To trivialize them with a letter that fails to mention Macdonald’s role as an architect of the residential school system is disrespectful to Indigenous people and families harmed by his legacy.

I don’t see the purpose of this letter other than to divide Ontarians, to put political games before serving the people of Ontario.

I encourage Mr Ford to focus on being the Premier of Ontario. Not the Premier of BC, not the mayor of Toronto, but the Premier of Ontario. Ontario has plenty of problems to tackle without spending time and money lecturing the Mayor of Victoria.

Wherever you stand on the future of monuments, chastising the city of Victoria doesn’t help further reconciliation, which should be the ultimate goal.”

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