A statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II is set to be erected in front of the Ontario Legislative Building in Queen’s Park, Toronto and it has upset at least one NDP MPP.
The Bronze statue will be sculpted by Ontario artist Ruth Abernethy and is expected to cost taxpayers $1.5 million. The project was initially proposed by the Royal Canadian Heritage Trust and began under former Ontario Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne almost a decade ago.
“It has been a while,” said Abernethy. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a halt to fundraising efforts from private donors which resulted in the statue being put in storage and Abernethy left unpaid.
Initially, the plan was to have the statue unveiled in 2017 in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary however work on the site has only begun in the last couple of weeks.
The statue is scaled at 150% of the life size of Queen Elizabeth II and she is sitting on the Canadian Senate throne. It is set to be placed on the west front lawn of the legislature and will mirror the existing statue of Queen Victoria on the east front lawn. It is expected to be unveiled by the end of this year.
Abernethy’s statute was left in limbo for several years before coming to the attention of Paul Calandra, minister of legislative affairs, which prompted him to contact the artist and other legislative officials.
“The government decided it had to step in and make it right with both artist and the foundry but, more importantly, I think we’re always in tune to honour her majesty on the grounds of the legislature,” said Calandra. “Given that there had been previous approval, we didn’t feel it necessary to relitigate this particular one.”
The legislature’s Board of Internal Economy, chaired by Speaker Ted Arnott, made the decision to finish the project.
New Democrat MPP Sol Mamkwa is taking a stance against the decision however citing that the money could be better spent on uncovering the unmarked graves of Indigenous children at residential school sites or at least paying tribute to the tragedy. “Where is the monument to that?” asked Mamakwa.
Mamakwa represents the northwestern Ontario riding of Kiiwetinoong and is a member of the Kingfisher Lake First Nation. “I don’t know that we really need to construct a statue for Queen Elizabeth.” he said.
Premier Doug Ford had previously committed $10 million towards identifying potential burial sites in Ontario residential schools two years ago however Mamakwa called the amount “a drop in the bucket.” at the time.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford announced an additional $7.1 million would go to an “Indian Residential School Community Engagement Fund” on Monday. The fund will serve as an effort to provide support for survivors and their families.
The unveiling of the Queen Elizabeth II statue comes at a time when the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald at the legislature, erected in 1894, has been vandalized numerous times in response to his role in the residential school system. In 2020, the statue was even boarded up and covered with a tarp to deter vandals.
Calandra believes that the statue of Queen Elizabeth II differs from that of MacDonald, saying “Queen Elizabeth, in my opinion, represents the start of reconciliation in this country,” said Calandra.
Mamakwa disagrees, saying that she is part of a royal establishment that has mistreated Indigenous people and failed to uphold treaty obligations.
Abernethy feels that the statue is simply a tribute to the Queen herself and doesn’t represent the entire monarchy. “I don’t dwell on the royal family. I think it’s important to note this particular one was a tribute to Queen Elizabeth.” said Abernethy. “This is not a tribute to empire…I think that is significant.”
