I have no objections to acknowledging important historical figures in public spaces, but that history — and those figures — should reflect the city and its people.
Almost as soon as the ink was dry on the Treaties, First Nations people were herded onto reserves and essentially erased from history. This lack of acknowledgement of our existence has created a racial divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
If we as a society are serious about creating a better future it should include all people. Keeping space for controversial figures, especially those who did not build this province, does nothing in terms of relationship building.
Regina is the only city in Western Canada to have a monument of Canada’s first prime minister. Saskatchewan has its own unique history. I would much rather see a monument of Tommy Douglas than of John A. Macdonald.
Better yet, what about something that finally acknowledges Canada’s hidden history?
Most people do not know Thomas Moore-Keesick by his name, but many will recognize his image. He has become the face of Indian Residential Schools.
On Aug. 26, 1891, eight-year-old Moore Keesick, along with his brother Samuel and his sister Julia, were placed in the Regina Indian Industrial School.
The school operated from 1891 to 1910. Moore Keesick was the 22nd student to register and became known as No. 22.
Moore Keesick was from the Muscowpetung Saulteaux First Nation, located about 45 minutes northeast of Regina. He was the youngest child of Paul Desjarlais Sr. and Hannah Moore Keesick.
While at school he and Julia contracted tuberculosis. His sister died at the school, but he was sent home where he died at the age of 12.
The only reminder of the school is a small cemetery located west of Regina on Pinkie Road. This history would have been lost if the new landowner had not discovered the small cemetery and alerted the city.
A monument to this child may be more fitting for Regina than some of our current statues.
Macdonald doesn’t exemplify Canadian values
He was an alcoholic prone to binge drinking. A drunken Macdonald once puked in the House of Commons during a debate.
He was openly racist. Macdonald targeted First Nations, Métis, French and certain immigrant populations. He created the Indian Act and Indian Residential Schools. Macdonald had Métis leader Louis Riel executed for treason despite objections from French Canadians.
Macdonald resigned from office in 1873 after being accused of accepting bribes from businessmen seeking the contract to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.
In short, he did not exemplify the values Canadians pride themselves on today.
A statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, was toppled to the ground by demonstrators as a protest march calling for defunding of the police reached its end at Place du Canada in Montreal on Saturday. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Macdonald was re-elected and died in office in 1891. Saskatchewan didn’t become a province until 1905, which means Macdonald never represented this province — yet his stature stands tall in downtown Regina.
Over the summer a small group held a sit-in near the Macdonald monument. They wanted a meeting with the city to discuss removing the statue. Instead, a sign was placed at the base of the figure indicating the city was open to hearing from the community.
Dewdney another name not worth celebrating
Decolonizing Relations and the Buffalo People Arts Institute are pushing to remove any reference to Edgar Dewdney from public spaces. The city has agreed to public consultations, but no dates have been set.
Dewdney, a B.C. politician, was the first Insp. of Indian Affairs and in 1881, Macdonald appointed him Lt.-Gov. of the Northwest Territories.
Dewdney’s policies shaped the existing relationship between the federal government and Indigenous people.
He cleared the Prairies to make way for the transcontinental railway. Indigenous people and the buffalo were casualties of that pursuit. Many Chinese immigrants also lost their lives during construction of the railway.
As Lt.-Gov., Dewdney chose Regina as the capital of Saskatchewan. He owned land in the area and was criticized for his choice.
He never lived in Saskatchewan, yet one of Regina’s most popular streets is named after him, along with a park and pool.
On March 29, the city voted unanimously to act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions 94 Calls to Action and created Reconciliation Regina. Now is a great opportunity for the city to show its commitment to those calls to action.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
