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A statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald was toppled in downtown Montreal by protesters marching in assist of defunding police, authorities officers mentioned.
The incident occurred on the finish of a peaceable march on Saturday when a gaggle of individuals climbed the monument and pulled down the statue, inflicting the top to fly off, based on video posted on social media.
Calls to defund the police have been rising throughout the United States and Canada, after a spate of violent incidents involving police. The dying of George Floyd, a Black man, whereas within the custody of Minneapolis police in May sparked world protests about racial inequality and police brutality, and renewed pledges from some to battle racism.
In June, a video exhibiting a forceful arrest of a Canadian indigenous chief by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raised questions on the usage of drive by the police.
The statue of Macdonald has been the positioning of repeated acts of graffiti in recent times, and it has typically been lined in pink paint.
Saturday’s incident drew fast condemnation from political leaders.
“Whatever one might think of John A. Macdonald, destroying a monument in this way is unacceptable,” Quebec Premier Francois Legault mentioned in a tweet. “We must fight racism, but destroying parts of our history is not the solution.”
Newly elected chief of Canada’s major opposition Conservative Party, Erin O’Toole, mentioned, “We will not build a better future by defacing our past.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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