Delays in Queen Victoria statue consultation have become 'disrespectful,' say Kitchener Indigenous community leaders
CTV
More than a year has passed since the City of Kitchener announced it was pausing community consultations on the future of the Queen Victoria statue in Victoria Park, and there is still no timeline for a resumption of the process.
More than a year has passed since the City of Kitchener announced it was pausing community consultations on the future of the Queen Victoria statue in Victoria Park, and there is still no timeline for a resumption of the process.
The statue has stood in the heart of the downtown park since 1911, but in the last few years there has been an acknowledgement it causes pain to those harmed by colonialism.
Amy Smoke and Bangishimo, the co-directors of the Willow River Centre in downtown Kitchener, have been leading the calls to have the monument removed.
“I think [the city] should doing more,” says Smoke, who is Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan, from the Six Nations of the Grand River. “They certainly had enough time.”
The statue has been doused with red paint multiple times since July 2021. Each time, the city has cleaned the paint off at the cost of $3,000 to $5,000.
In June 2022, Kitchener city council approved a plan for a year-long community consultation and decision-making process on the statue’s future.
