WARMINGTON: Sir John A Macdonald’s memory erased in a day by Peel District School Board

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BRAMPTON — It didn’t take long for the Peel District School Board to erase Sir John A. Macdonald and 200 years of Canadian history.

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Until Wednesday, a Brampton school had been named after Canada’s first Prime Minister for decades.

Not anymore.

Just hours after the board renamed the school, the Sir John A. Macdonald sign was taken down and replaced.

“Welcome to Nibi Emosaawdang Public School,” the sign out front of the Center St. N. school read Thursday.

Even the school’s logo was removed from the gym’s floor and walls, and social media accounts were deactivated.

“The name Nibi Akik was offered as a way of honoring Josephine Mandamin and all water walkers,” says the board. “The name lends itself to environmental activism (especially when led by female community members as is customary in Indigenous culture as Josephine Mandamin modeled), a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and centers the themes of reconciliation, equity and social justice, which are aligned to the Peel District School board’s commitments to anti-colonialism, anti-racism, anti-oppression.”

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But it also banishes the memory of Macdonald. It’s madness and people from all political backgrounds should end such insanity.

The board’s “Equity Audit” policy requires “the Peel District School Board (PDSB) to review all practices, policies, and procedures, and ensure they are developed and implemented using anti-racist, anti-oppressive and anti-colonial principles” and this includes “evaluating books, media, and other resources currently being used in schools for teaching and learning English, History and Social Sciences to ensure that they are inclusive and culturally responsive, relevant, and reflective.”

But while doing so, this ridiculous re-writing of history scrubs the achievements of the man who oversaw the birth of the nation in 1867. It also sends a message that anybody can be canceled once judged through a 2022 lens from a time before Canada even had electricity. It’s not fair to apply today’s standards to a different time.

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“I don’t support erasing Canadian history,” Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told the Toronto Sun. “John A. Macdonald was our founding Prime Minister and we should be proud of the country he gave birth to, not trying to erase it from the history books our founding fathers.”

Brown, currently vying to be Canada’s next Conservative party leader and next prime minister, said while he thinks it’s a “beautiful” tribute to honor Nibi Emosaawdang, it “can be done at a new school to be built in Canada’s fastest growing city.”

But in a statement the board said, “consideration to change the name of the school, mascot or symbol, has occurred through a fair and inclusive process rooted in an understanding of settler colonization, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and its impact on First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples,” and that The Mississaugas of the Credit, The Credit River Metis, The Peel Indigenous Network of Employee, the Indigenous Network and the Credit River Metis Council were consulted.

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One parent, who did not want to be named for fear of blowback being thrust upon his children who attend the school, said he’s opposed to this.

“We came from a country where history was changed and we don’t like to see it happening here,” the parents said.

From Macdonald to McGill to Ryerson, canceling trailblazing historical leaders is a mission statement for today’s woke crowd. Macdonald statues have been removed in Victoria, BC, Montreal, Que., and even in his home town of Kingston. The one at Queen’s Park has been boarded up for two years.

What makes this one in Brampton even more dubious is that Peel school board trustees had no vote.

“The Peel District School Board is currently under Ministry of Education supervision. Governance roles for the Board of Trustees have changed while they are currently under Ministry of Education supervision. During supervision, Trustees do not have formal governing powers. As such, they cannot put motions forward, vote on any board actions, make any financial decisions, or change or approve policies,” said board spokesperson Malon Edwards.

“Peel District School Board Supervisor, Bruce Rodrigues, considers recommendations like the renaming of Sir John A. Macdonald Sr. Public School. at board meetings,” Edwards added.

That happened March 30th and by March 31, the history of Sir John A. Macdonald in Brampton was history.

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