The Epekwitk Assembly of Councils has received correspondence from the City of Charlottetown with respect to the Sir John A. MacDonald statue. The Epekwitk Assembly of Councils is comprised of the Chiefs of the Abegweit and Lennox Island First Nations.

The Chiefs were clear that the statue of Sir John A. MacDonald should not remain in front of Charlottetown City Hall. It is inappropriate to have a statue of the man who was the architect of the Indian residential school system on public display in a prominent location. Residential schools have had a devastating and ongoing impact on the Mi’kmaq, First Nations, and Indigenous people in this country.

“The residential school system is not ancient history — the last residential school in Canada closed in 1996. There are many residential school survivors still living today, and we all continue to live with the impacts of residential schools. We cannot ignore this reality,” said Chief Darlene Bernard of Lennox Island First Nation.

“The statue of Sir John A. MacDonald should be removed from its current location and moved to a place where it can be given the proper historical context, including his role in the implementation of the residential school system and the impact that system has had on Indigenous people,” added Chief Junior Gould of Abegweit First Nation.

The Epekwitk Assembly of Councils is supportive of the City of Charlottetown’s efforts to establish a working group to determine a plan for the statue, provided that the group includes representation from the Epekwitk Mi’kmaq.