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Vandals Deface Statue Of Canada’s First PM To Protest White Supremacy

REUTERS

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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Vandals in Montreal have desecrated a statue of Canada’s first prime minister.

CBC News reports that the monument of Sir John A. Macdonald, considered by most historians to be the primary father of Canadian Confederation, was found to be covered in red paint in the Place du Canada park, where an “anti-racism” protest was about to take place.

Those responsible for the vandalism have called themselves an “anti-racist group” and posted a video on a local anarchist website. The unknown group calls Macdonald a “white supremacist” in their digital offering and insists that he “directly contributed to the genocide of Indigenous peoples with the creation of the brutal residential schools system” and “other measures meant to destroy native cultures and traditions.”

Park caretaker Nicholas Clyde Griffith says this is the second time the statue has been defaced.

“It’s happened before,” he told CBC News. “We used a special paint remover last time.”

On Nov. 11, Montreal vandals wrote graffiti on a city war memorial.

Ever since it became fashionable to remove Confederate statues in the U.S., Canadian groups have called for the banishment of statues honoring supposedly “white supremacists” like Macdonald and British Gen. Lord Cornwallis, famous for his exploits in the Revolutionary War.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has actually intervened in the controversy, saying not a single federal government building will be told to remove Macdonald’s name from its walls.

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