Premier Kathleen Wynne is rejecting a teachers' union call to remove the name of Canada's first prime minister from public elementary schools in the province.
The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario passed a motion last week saying school districts should rename all schools and buildings named after Sir John A. Macdonald because he was in power when the first residential schools were approved.
But the premier says we need to teach children the full history of Canada, including colonialism, and find ways to effect meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Meantime, there are calls around the continent for the removal of statues of controversial historic figures.
In Hamilton, some want a statue of our first Prime Minister removed from downtown Gore Park.
Across the river, a change.org petition is calling for the removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus from Columbus Park and the renaming of the park.
The petition reads, "Columbus established the beachhead for ruthless conquest and settler colonialism and inaugurated the genocidal devastation of whole continents."