Dear editor,

I heard Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps being interviewed about the statue of Canada鈥檚 first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald being removed from its pedestal at Victoria City Hall.

The mayor used the word 鈥渃ontentious鈥� several times in trying to explain the decision, and summarized her historical education supposedly trying to prove that this is not another hare-brained politically-correct decision, like so many that have characterized her first term as head honcho.

Despite an impressive list of degrees, she claimed to have only recently learned of Sir John A鈥檚 participation in the introduction of the Indian Residential School system.

If the mayor is determined to do away with historical monuments that have become offensive to her and others in this current era, then what about the statue of Queen Victoria outside the B.C. Government Buildings. After all, she was monarch when the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada joined in 1841 to become a province, and later a dominion in 1867. Territories that had belonged to the Indigenous peoples now belonged to the Crown (AKA : Queen Victoria).

Then there鈥檚 Christ Church Cathedral and all other Anglican churches which may have to be bulldozed because the Church Of England was one of history鈥檚 biggest slave owners.

Surely the mayor has read about the slaves who toiled on Barbados sugar plantations with the word 鈥渟ociety鈥� branded on their skin. This signified that they were the property of 鈥渢he honourable and reverent society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts.鈥�

It was the missionary arm of the Anglican Church, which was fully compensated by the government of Queen Victoria in 1833 when slavery was abolished, receiving the princely sum of 9,000 pounds, a fortune at the time. The mayor is well aware that Queen Victoria was then titular head of the Anglican Church, of course.

So where does all this political-correctness end? By renaming our capital city for the Indigenous people who first lived there: Lekwungen settlement, perhaps?

Sincerely,

Bernie Smith

Parksville