Last John A. Macdonald statue in major Western Canada city seen painted 'red handed'

The Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Regina has been vandalized again, this time withred paint covering its hands when it was seen Tuesday.

It's the only statue of Canada's first prime minister that remains in a major city in Western Canada, and one of only a handfulremaining in the country.

Earlier this year, the statuewas spray painted head to toe.

"If you think Canada has some serious institutional, some serious deep-down fundamental flaws,then I can see why you would be upset with that statue," said University of Regina Prof. JamesDaschuk, whose book Clearing the Plains delves into Macdonald's treatment of Indigenous people.

"We've got Macdonald starving people into submission in the 1880s to facilitate the railway."

Macdonald also played a role in"the imposition of the residential school system," Daschuk said. The system was labelledcultural genocide in 2015by then Supreme Court Chief Justice BeverleyMcLachlin.

It was quite a shock to see this was the only one in Western Canada.- Regina Mtis artist and university professorDavid Garneau

Macdonald also oversawthe imposition of the pass system, which required First Nations people to get approval from a government agentto leave their reserve.

"A lot of people defend Macdonald because he built the country and that's no doubt true, but he built the dysfunctional country that we live in," Daschuk said.

He said issues raised by the Justice for our Stolen Children protest camp set up across from the SaskatchewanLegislature are an example of Macdonald's legacy.

"That's how institutionalized it is. One-hundred and forty years later, his policies, his actions [that he]oversaw them as the de facto minister of Indian Affairs, still have resonance in our society today."

Mtisartist says statue belongs in museum

"That somebody painted him red-handedthat's a symbolic gesture," said David Garneau, a Regina Mtis artist and university professor.

He wants it removed, not destroyed.

"I'm not for iconoclasm. I'm not for the destruction of the objects. Just recontextualize it. Put it in another place, like a museum, where it belongs."

He was surprised by the statue when he moved to Regina from Alberta about two decades ago.

"It was quite a shock to see this was the only one in Western Canada."

Less than two weeks ago, Victoria's city council voted toremove its John A. Macdonald statue in the name of reconciliation.

Garneau called Regina's statue a"deliberate provocation" because it's in the city where Louis Riel died by hanging.

• 'Honour a great man': Louis Riel's legacy gets its due

Macdonald was prime minister when Riel was chargedwith treasonin 1885for leading the Northwest Rebellion.

The statue was first suggested in 1891,six years after Riel's demiseand theyear Macdonald died,Garneau said.

It didn't become a reality until many decades later, as part of Canada'scentennial.The city commissioned artist Sonia de Grandmaison to do the piece, which was unveiled by John Diefenbaker in November1967.

"It was inappropriate in 1967, and it's inappropriate now," Garneausaid.

Garneau suggested that the statue be replaced, and said he "wouldlove to see a statue of Louis Riel by a local artist."

"It would be much more interesting and certainly much more of an attraction because it's about this place."

Mayor says statue won't be removed without formal request

Regina Mayor Michael Fougeresaid the city has not received aformal request to have the statue taken down.

"It's important to understand all the good and difficult things that happened with Sir John A Macdonald," he said. "Removing doesn't necessarily help in the discussion and trying to change history in this way doesn't necessarily help."

Fougeresaid he's disappointed by the "vandalism defacing the statue," and a plaque detailingMacdonald's full legacy or an additional monument could be considered.

Councillor calls on residents to demand action

"I read this as kind of a political statement, and that's no surprise considering the legacy of residential schools," said Ward 3 Coun.Andrew Stevens.

Stevens said city council needs to considerhistorical figures recognized in Reginawithcolonialism and reconciliation in mind.

"I think it's been very ad hoc. Collectively, we haven't had this discussion."