HALIFAX—For decades, Mi’kmaq elder and historian Daniel Paul says hasn’t been able to walk through Edward Cornwallis Park in Halifax without the bronze figure of the city’s controversial founder staring down at him. Demonstrators played drums and sang an Indigenous honour song on Sunday as dozens of people gathered to revel in the removal of the Cornwallis statue from the park bearing his name. The statue “had such a nice view,” organizer Suzanne Patles said with a laugh as she stood on the concrete platform. A smudging ceremony was performed to rid the park of what Patles described as the “lingering negativity” left behind by the statue. After a municipal process to re-examine Cornwallis commemorations was derailed about a week ago, Halifax council considered a staff report that highlighted rising tensions around the statue, saying Sunday’s protest could result in damage to the statue and personal injury.

Source: thestar February 05, 2018 00:11 UTC