The city has begun their attempts to gather input on the former site of the statue of Sir John. A Macdonald.
On Saturday the city of Kingston set up a tent in City Park directly adjacent to the now vacant podium in order to share information some may not have seen online.
City staff are looking for ideas from residents for new installations at the now vacant site that once onoring Canada’s controversial first Prime Minister.
Last week, the City of Kingston sent out a press release seeking new ideas for the space, as well as looking to hear feedback from the community on the statue’s proposed move to Cataraqui Cemetery.
“The City is looking for input, from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members on the relocation of the statue to the cemetery as well as on future uses of its previous location in City Park,” Director of Heritage Services Jennifer Campbell said in the release.
“There are lots of ways community can share ideas and get involved in these discussions.”
Many residents have said the City of Kingston should be most readily seeking input from the Indigenous community on what to replace the statue with.
Today a city representative confirmed they’ve been having discussions with the Revolution of The Heart organizers for the last several weeks on their hopes for the new installation.
According to the city representative, the movement’s organizers hope to have the statue base turned into a monument for the survivors of residential schools.
A similar but virtual meeting will take place on November 15 from 4-6 PM discussing ideas for future installations and programming at the City Park site.
Finally there will be ten small group meetings with local Indigenous community members and organizations between now and the end of November facilitated by the First Peoples Group.
Information on the project and registration to have your say can be found here.
