Elementary school teachers pushing to remove Sir John A. Macdonald’s name from Ontario schools

Ontario elementary school teachers are urging school boards to remove the name of Canada’s first prime minister from public schools.

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario recently passed a resolution to re-name any public elementary schools named after Sir John A. Macdonald.

Supporters of the motion say it’s because of Macdonald’s role in creating the residential school system, and the starving of indigenous communities during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Meantime, Nick Manning with the Waterloo Region District School Board says they are following this story very closely, and they want to make sure our school community is safe for everyone.

“We want our schools to reflect a safe space for our students, and our community to be in. We will watch the word from ETFO and begin a dialogue with our school and community around the name. But really, we do need to take this to our trustees. We have a school naming policy that our trustees oversee, and this is a conversation that they will want to think about carefully and discuss.”

Manning says they want to learn the lessons of history, but they also want to consider the importance of school identity.

“We know we do need to provide a safe environment for everybody, so we will talk and listen to a variety of people to hear their views. At the school board over the years, we look at our mascots and names and consider if they reflect or represent the values that we have today. Right now, our society is going through a number of changes. We need to make sure that we reflect on those changes, on our community, and consider what to do.”

Kitchener-Centre MPP Daiene Vernile calls it a curious debate, and says she believes we need to have a broader conversation.

“When I heard this mentioned today.. it’s challenging. Do we rename all of these schools because of activities, actions, and opinions that a certain gentlemen had back in the 19th century .. or do we put him in a place in time, and relate his behaviour to the context of the age in which he lived.”

Vernile says she believes we need to keep talking about this, and she’s curious to hear what students and parents think.

“You have to wonder if the issue was brought up here in Canada because of what we see happening in the States. But what we really need to do at this point is to really listen — listen to the public, listen to teachers, administrators, students, and parents.”