The future of a controversial statue at St. Catharines City Hall is still unknown.
During last night's council meeting a motion to remove the statue of Private Alexander Watson lost on a tie vote.
The move jammed up the meeting as council had voted to relocate the statue back in July, but after last night's vote lost, no one initially put forward a motion to reconsider the July decision and leave the statue as is.
Councillor Sal Sorrento did eventually put forward a motion to reconsider, but did not get a seconder. He stated he supported the idea of placing plaques next to the deteriorating statue to offer historical context.
Consultation with community stakeholders showed 80 percent of the groups spoken with wanted to either see the statue removed or were torn between whether it should be removed or not.
Only 20 percent of the stakeholders were fully in support of keeping it where it is.
Councillor Kevin Townsend recommended approaching the Niagara Military Museum to see if they could use the statue for educational purposes. Staff will be reaching out to the museum and bringing their findings back to a future meeting.
Over the years the statue has been made to represent 'citizen soldiers', but for many people it is a painful reminder of oppression due to Watson's role fighting for the Canadian government during the North-West Resistance. The statue has also been crumbling over the years, and in its current form may present a safety hazard in the future.
City staff believe it would have taken about $100,000 to relocate the statue and $80,000 to simply remove it.