A group of historians is urging Toronto’s school board to reconsider name changes to schools that carry the names of Sir John A. Macdonald, Henry Dundas, and Egerton Ryerson, calling the recent trend of renaming buildings and roads and removing statues of historic figures across Canada “ill-considered.”
“We believe the recent epidemic of historic statue removal and renaming of roads, buildings, and institutions to be on the whole ill-considered and driven more by popular opinion and prejudice than by thorough research and analysis,” the Canadian Institute for Historical Education (CIHE) said in a Feb. 6 letter.
The letter, addressed to the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) chair and trustees, urges the board’s committee to reconsider its recommendation to rename Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute, Dundas Junior Public School, and Ryerson Community School.
The recommendation, presented in a Jan. 27 staff report, suggests these changes aim to address the potential impact the names of these figures may have on students and staff, due to their links to “colonial history, anti-indigenous racism and their connection to systems of oppression.”
The CIHE said that while the report may seem to be based on established research, it is an attempt to push the TDSB to follow the trend of other Canadian institutions in removing these names on questionable grounds. Specifically, the CIHE points out that the report fails to substantiate what adverse “potential impact” these names have on students and staff.
The Epoch Times contacted the TDSB for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
‘Unfounded Accusations’
Canada has seen a wave of efforts to remove the symbols of these historic figures in recent years, including the renaming of Ryerson University and Dundas Street in Toronto and the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway in Ottawa.
Related Stories
Many of these efforts have been marked by the removal or vandalizing of statues, such as a Macdonald statue in Montreal being toppled in August 2020 and Ryerson’s statue being defaced and beheaded at the university in Toronto. Supporters of these actions have accused these figures of playing a role in Canada’s residential school system.
The head of a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald is shown torn down following a protest in Montreal, on Aug. 29, 2020. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
However, the CIHE said such efforts to assign blame to these historic figures are often based on “unfounded accusations” that overlook their contributions to human rights and the abolition of slavery. It recognized Macdonald, the first prime minister, for shaping Canada into a nation and preventing its annexation by the United States during the mid-19th century. The CIHE also highlighted Macdonald’s support for indigenous rights in Canada’s western regions, including giving indigenous Canadians the right to vote.
It is “particularly odd that a School Board report that reflects disapproval of colonialism attacks the very individual who, more than any one person in the history of the country, brought colonial rule to an end in Canada,” the CIHE said in its release.
The CIHE credits Henry Dundas for his role as an abolitionist and ally of British politician William Wilberforce in the fight against slavery. Additionally, as colonial secretary, Dundas appointed John Graves Simcoe as governor of Upper Canada, which became the first jurisdiction in the British Empire to abolish slavery.
Regarding Egerton Ryerson, the CIHE said the 19th-century Methodist minister has been “falsely accused” of being the “architect” of the residential school system, noting that these schools predated his birth, and the system was established long after his time. Instead, the CIHE highlighted Ryerson’s contributions as the founder of public libraries and public education in Upper Canada, as well as his collaboration with indigenous leaders to establish industrial schools.
A protester swings a hammer in an attempt to remove the head of the Egerton Ryerson statue in Toronto on June 6, 2021. The Canadian Press/Chris Young
Toronto Metropolitan University professor Patrice Dutil said in a statement to The Epoch Times the 2021 decision to rebrand the school from Ryerson University “was done for the wrong reasons,” adding that “most people don’t care about renaming the university” in Toronto.
“The removal of statues and the renaming of schools, buildings and streets is the most visible aspect of a woke mentality because these gestures are done for the wrong reasons,” said Dutil, a contributor to the CIHE. “Such decisions should be made by qualified people who know how to examine the evidence. Instead, a few low-level officials take advantage of the historical illiteracy of Canadians.”
