A city crew has set up scaffolding and is beginning the work to remove the controversial statue of Edward Cornwallis from the Halifax park that also bears his name.
Halifax regional council voted 12-4 Tuesday to remove the bronze monument commemorating Cornwallis, the military officer who founded Halifax in 1749.
The decision comes after increasing controversy over Cornwallis's so-called scalping proclamation that offered a cash bounty to anyone who killed a Mi'kmaw person.
Brendan Elliott, a spokesperson for the city, said the statue may be removed today, but it could take longer. Both the statue and the stone pedestal on which it stands will be placed in storage.
A crew begins work Wednesday on removing the Edward Cornwallis statue. (Craig Paisley/CBC)
Rebecca Moore, a Mi'kmaw and a member of Pictou Landing First Nation, helped organize protests against the Cornwallis statue. She said removing it is an "awesome" step toward reconciliation.
"I know Mi'kmaw nation is very happy right now, I know that, so I would say that's a definite step forward in reconciliation," she told CBC's Information Morning.
The recommendation to remove the statue from the park was outlined in a report added as part of a last-minute motion to Tuesday's council agenda. It cited public safety concerns and building better relationships with Halifax's Indigenous communities as reasons to put it in storage.
Work crew has just arrived to put up scaffolding around Cornwallis statue. Hearing they are preparing today and dismantling tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/TZQuo1Lf2p
— @cbc_craig
Moore said her group engaged in peaceful protests and had no intention of escalating into violence.
"I can guarantee and I can vouch for that we never planned violence on our part, but I think that what the city was finally recognizing is something that we were telling them for a long time and it's how this statue is a flashpoint for racial tensions," she said.
Moore said she would like to see the statue put in a museum with a description explaining the history behind Cornwallis and why the monument was removed from the park.
"It's not about erasing history at all, so that argument is not accurate because I feel like this whole process is actually bringing to light accurate history without offending a whole nation of the Indigenous peoples here," she said.
A 'learning' moment
Coun. Lisa Blackburn, who voted in favour of removing the statue, agrees a museum is a more appropriate place for the statue.
"It's going to be about learning going forward," she said.
Work crews arrived shortly before 11 a.m. to put up scaffolding around the controversial statue. (Craig Paisley/CBC)
With the statue removed, Blackburn said she hopes the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs will come back to the table and help form an expert panel to make recommendations on how to handle other municipal properties named after Cornwallis.
Talks between the municipality and the assembly broke down after some regional councillors rejected one of the panellists suggested by the assembly.
The dispute centred around Wilbert Marshall, the chief of Potlotek First Nation. Some councillors refused to accept Marshall's appointment because he was convicted in 2008 of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman.
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