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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned the tearing down of a statue of the nation’s first PM Sir John A MacDonald in Montreal final week. At a media interplay in that metropolis, Trudeau mentioned he was dissatisfied and “actions such as that have no place in a society that abides by the rule of law.”
His criticism of activists tearing down the statue of MacDonald got here at the same time as Francois Legault, Premier of the province of Quebec the place Montreal is situated, mentioned the statue shall be restored to its place within the park sq.. Trudeau was within the metropolis on Monday and castigated these behind toppling the statue, as he mentioned, “Choices like this, to rely on vandalism to advance causes, is not going to help anyone move forward the right way.”
Protestors in Montreal supporting a motion to defund the police toppled and defaced the statue on Saturday. While no group took accountability for the act at Place du Canada in Quebec’s largest metropolis, there was a march in Montreal that afternoon that includes activists in search of defunding the police, and in help of Black Lives Matter and Indigenous peoples.
According to a video of the incident, a cluster of folks scaled the monument the place the statue was prominently featured after which pulled it down utilizing ropes after unbolting it from its pedestal. The statue was additionally decapitated and defaced with graffiti.
According to the nationwide broadcaster CBC, a leaflet discovered on the website learn, partially: “Sir John A. Macdonald was a white supremacist who orchestrated the genocide of Indigenous peoples with the creation of the brutal residential schools system, as well as promoting other measures that attacked Indigenous peoples and traditions.”
Statues of MacDonald have been attacked in varied components of the nation up to now however this was the first time one was introduced down. Canada witnessed demonstrations in a number of cities together with Toronto, Calgary and Montreal on Saturday.
The vandalism got here in for criticism from leaders. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante condemned the vandalism resulting in the tearing down of the statue and mentioned such acts “cannot be accepted nor tolerated.” She added, “I understand and share the motivation of citizens who want to live in a more just and inclusive society. The discussion and the actions that are required must be done in a peaceful manner, without ever resorting to vandalism.”
The Premier of Quebec Francoise Legault described the act as “unacceptable” and added, “We must fight racism, but destroying parts of our history is not the solution. Vandalism has no place in our democracy and the statue must be restored.” The vandalism additionally confronted rising criticism from nationwide and provincial leaders throughout the nation. Plante mentioned Montreal’s public artwork workplace will safe the perimeter of the realm the place the statue stood and coordinate its “conservation.”
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