麦克唐纳雕像身首异处。(CP/Graham Hughes)
RCI吴薇/星期六（8月29日）蒙特利尔下了一整天雨，实在不是一个进行户外活动的好日子。黑人和原住民权益团体在这一天举行的要求削减警察经费的示威游行，只有一百来人参加。当他们冒雨沿着舍尔布鲁克大道走向市中心的加拿大广场时，谁也不知道接下来要发生的事，至少活动的组织者后来如此说。
到了加拿大广场，示威者照例发言、喊口号。除了要求削减警察经费、代之以更完善的少数族裔社区和原住民社区的社会服务之外，也有人打出了”黑人的命也是命“的标语。下午3点左右，有人爬上了广场中央的麦克唐纳雕像，把绳子套在它身上。不一会儿，雕像被从高大的基座上拽下来，在落到地面时脖子断了，头摔到一边。一些围观的人兴奋地尖叫蹦跳。
(CP/Graham Hughes)
约翰.亚历山大.麦克唐纳（Sir John Alexander MacDonald（1815-1891）是加拿大首任总理，因他在加拿大联邦的建立上起到的重要作用而经常被称为联邦之父。由于他当政时推行的寄宿学校等原住民政策，近年来他的雕像经常成为原住民和反种族主义抗议者的目标。星期六被破坏的雕像两年前曾被人泼上红色颜料。一份要求移除它的网上请愿书在过去几个月中征集到了五万多个签名。
示威组织者事先不知情
这次游行是由BIPOC（即黑人，原住民和有色族裔的英文缩写）自由联合会组织的全国抗议活动的一部分。联合会要求警方进行“去军事化”改革并减少一半经费。联络人之一欧利斯（Elijah Olise）说，毁坏麦克唐纳雕像的事和联合会没有关系。他看到雕像倒下时吃了一惊。他本人是希望看到有一天这座雕像被“以合法的方式”移走的。
雕像被拽倒之前，有人在绳子上拉起横幅，称麦克唐纳双手沾满鲜血。一个自称是“年轻活动人士的不一样的联合会”分发的传单说，麦克唐纳是一个白人至上主义者，一手打造了原住民寄宿学校制度，并制定了其他损害原住民和原住民传统的政策。要求移走他的雕像的请愿书至今没有得到市政府的回应，因此他们决定自行采取行动。
这个联合会没有透露自己的正式名称。2018年在雕像上泼红色颜料的也是一个匿名团体。
省长和市长发声谴责
蒙特利尔市长普兰特（Valérie Plante）发表声明谴责破坏麦克唐纳雕像的行为。她说，对有争议的历史人物的纪念碑或雕像，我们应该补上相关历史知识，而不是把它们搬走。她表示蒙特利尔警方将会对此事进行调查。
魁北克省长勒格（François Legault）呼吁市政府尽快修复雕像并把它放回原位。他表示，无论你对麦克唐纳的看法如何，毁坏雕像的做法都是不可接受的。
阿尔伯塔省长肯尼（Jason Kenney）说，这是对“我们的历史和我们的英雄”的亵渎，是“极左分子”的暴力行为。他在推特上表示，如果蒙特利尔市决定不重新立起雕像，阿尔伯塔省愿意接收它，并将把它立在省议会大楼前。
前魁北克党领袖李泽在推特上说，他并不是麦克唐纳的粉丝，但是雕像如何处理不应该由一群示威者来决定。
星期天一早，市政府工人开来吊车，把身首异处的麦克唐纳雕像运走。普兰特说，市政府负责公共场所艺术品的部门将负责修复它，然后再讨论接下来怎么办。
Radio-Canada的蒙特利尔电台早间节目星期一邀请听众发表看法。有的听众希望重新立起雕像，但是添加说明文字。也有人认为, 它的位置应该在博物馆里。
（RCI with CBC News, La Presse， Radio-Canada)
Trudeau condemns destruction of Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Montreal
‘Actions such as that have no place in a society that abides by the rule of law,’ Trudeau says
John Paul Tasker · CBC News · Posted: Aug 31, 2020 1:00 PM ET
The head of a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald is shown torn down following a demonstration in Montreal on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020. The protestors called on governments to defund the police and end all systemic racism. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today condemned vandalism by activists that brought down a statue of the country’s first prime minister in Montreal over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters at an announcement about COVID-19 vaccines, Trudeau said that while some of the country’s past leaders have done questionable things, acts of destruction are not the best way to advance the fight for equality.
“We are a country of laws and we are a country that needs to respect those laws, even as we seek to improve and change them, and those kind of acts of vandalism are not advancing the path towards greater justice and equality in this country,” Trudeau said.
“Actions such as that have no place in a society that abides by the rule of law,” he added in French.
The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Montreal — like those some in other cities — was targeted by activists because of his association with the Indian residential school system, which forcibly removed Indigenous children from the “savages” in their home communities for education in largely church-run facilities where abuse was rampant.
Macdonald also opposed Chinese immigration on racist grounds, fearing it would dilute the British character of Canada.
In order to limit new arrivals, Macdonald’s government passed the Chinese Immigration Act in 1885, which levied a $50 “head tax” on Chinese immigrants.
The activists say the glorification of Macdonald is out of step with the modern push for racial justice.
The statue was toppled and decapitated during a protest calling on political leaders to de-fund police services — part of a wave of protests across the continent against excessive violence perpetrated by law enforcement against Black and Indigenous people.
Macdonald, who served as prime minister for some 19 years, is remembered mostly for his key role in bringing together a collection of disparate British colonies to create a new entity that is now one of the most prosperous and free countries on earth.
He spearheaded the construction of the transcontinental railway that united the fledgling country, encouraged immigration to develop Western Canada and backed tariff-based industrial policies that resulted in a robust domestic manufacturing sector.
“He was our first prime minister and I think it’s important to recognize the role he played in the creation of this country compared to world we live in now,” Trudeau said in French.
“We must acknowledge where there were comments, perspectives, certain actions that were unacceptable — That’s part of recognizing our history as a country.”
A number of other political leaders have condemned the destruction of the Macdonald monument, saying these vandals are intent on erasing Canada’s history and applying 21st century values to a leader who served more than 150 years ago.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney asked that the damaged statue be sent to his province so it could be repaired and redeployed to acknowledge Macdonald’s contributions as the country’s first leader and a Father of Confederation.
“This vandalism of our history and heroes must stop,” Kenney said in a tweet.
“As his biographer Richard Gwyn wrote, ‘No Macdonald, no Canada.’ Both Macdonald and the country he created were flawed but still great.”
Quebec Premier François Legault also condemned the destruction of the Macdonald statue and promised to restore it to its rightful place at the Place du Canada in Montreal’s downtown core.
“Whatever one might think of John A. Macdonald, destroying a monument in this way is unacceptable. We must fight racism, but destroying parts of our history is not the solution,” he said.
