Protest takes fight over Calgary school's name to the school board's steps
CTV
Students and community members will gather in protest outside the Calgary Board of Education Centre Tuesday morning, calling for the removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald name from a northwest junior high school.
Protesters lined the street outside the Calgary Board of Education Centre Tuesday morning, tying red ribbons around the building to symbolize what they say is a bureaucracy impeding truth and reconciliation efforts.
The Reconciliation Action Group, the group behind the protest, wants to change the name of Sir John A. Macdonald school in Calgary's northwest.
The reason for the change is because of the former prime minister's involvement with Canada's residential school system.
"This is a person who's also, you know, had a long standing issue of creating the system that has caused a genocide of people that we are now finding graves around the schools," said Michelle Robinson of Reconciliation Action.
“I think that we have to be honest as Canadians that we don't want to perpetuate racism by glorifying racists."
The CBE formed a committee to review the possibility of changing the name of Sir John A. Macdonald school nearly a year ago, but there has been no update on potential changes.
In a statement Tuesday to CTV News, the CBE wrote, "we can confirm that the work of the name review committee for Sir John A. Macdonald School is underway."
