A divided crowd collected around the City Hall of Victoria BC after the statue was removed at approximately 7am. People both in favour and opposed lined the sidewalks, divided by a large police presence.
By 12am the rallies and protests on both sides had officially started and it got quite tense and loud within minutes.
The majority of people advocating the statue remain were not even necessarily in favour of the statue being at City Hall. Many advocated it be moved to a location such as inside the Legislature or a museum. Others advocated simply changing the plaque and adding historical reference to it in order to educate the public of Canada’s difficult past. One thing that was certain of those advocating it remains. They felt the democratic process was being usurped and inadequate consultation had been done.
Many of the people advocating it be removed proved to be less cordial. Screaming ‘end white supremacy’ and ‘decolonization’ even though they had essentially got what they wanted. Several people had little or no argument, other than colonialism oppresses and whites are responsible for genocide. Unfortunately a large portion of the crowd advocating its removal did little to help legitimize First Nations causes, making what was supposed to be a reconciliation effort look more like an excuse to scream vitriolic slurs.
If anything came out of this entire process, it’s that the path forward has now become even more divisive and polarized.
Source: Volunteer contributors for THE VOICE OF CANADA