Published May 21, 2024 \u2022 5 minute read<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 209 Comments<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you happen to be in Kingston, Ont. in the next several months, consider visiting the newly re-opened Bellevue House National Historic Site, John A. Macdonald\u2019s historic home. With careful timing, you might be able to attend the hour-or-so \u201cUnpacking Macdonald\u201d tour about racism, sexism and the first prime minister\u2019s political decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBring an open mind and open heart and join the discussion in this safe space,\u201d reads the tour description<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Article content<\/p>\n\n\n\n Article content<\/p>\n\n\n\n As diversity initiatives often are, this little tour is just one outcome of Parks Canada\u2019s broader effort to integrate progressive identity politics into its mission. Nearly a decade of Liberal governance has made Canadian heritage a tool to reinforce contemporary multiculturalism, guided by careful demographic tallying augmented by subtle social commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It goes back to at least 2019, when Parks Canada released a new system plan for history and commemoration. The framework set four priorities for the agency to address reconciliation and Canada\u2019s changing demographics, among other things: Indigenous history, environmental history, diversity and \u201cCanada and the world.\u201d These replaced the priorities of the previous plan<\/a> (Aboriginal history, women\u2019s history and ethnocultural communities\u2019 history) that had been in place since 2000. There is no priority, of course, for just \u2026 Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, the Parks Canada belief seems to be that people are inherently narcissistic, unable to appreciate the past unless every story, every institution, mirrors the identities of today\u2019s Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This newsletter tackles hot topics with boldness, verve and wit. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n By 2020, then-environment minister John Wilkinson launched a series of consultations on how to move Parks Canada onward. The government\u2019s summary<\/a> of the consultations predictably focused on identity: those who aren\u2019t able-bodied white males \u201cfrequently feel excluded from these places\u201d and therefore more change was needed. Suggested solutions included subsidizing transportation to parks for low-income Canadians, valuing all world views equally and ensuring that employees demographically reflect the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2022, the Liberals moved towards demographically reflective park governance with the tabling of Bill C-23<\/a>, the historic places of Canada act. The law, which remains in second reading and would replace the current Historic Sites and Monuments Act if passed, would add mandatory Indigenous seats to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada<\/a>. Though, the board is currently diversity-quota-free and has Indigenous members already<\/a>. The new law would also mandate that \u201cIndigenous knowledge\u201d inform decisions on historical designations \u2014 a bizarre affirmation by the government that ethno-epistemology should guide policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n t<\/p>\n\n\n\n These changes to the law were specifically requested<\/a> by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which, evidently, have been accepted uncritically by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the new plans and bills, Parks Canada came out with a new values and ethics code<\/a> in 2023 that also championed the cause of total diversity. It emphasized the importance of \u201cIndigenous knowledge\u201d once more, as well as the need to tell history in a \u201csocially\u201d responsible way. Unobjectionable on their face \u2014 responsible storytelling is always a good thing, and Indigenous input can certainly round out the stories of early Canada \u2014 but by invoking ethnicity-based knowledge and the social-justice-adjacent term \u201csocial responsibility,\u201d the code takes on a political tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, on the Parks Canada ethics code outlines the organization\u2019s commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), it regurgitating the familiar list of prioritized groups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing a successful and innovative agency is rooted in our ability to create inclusive spaces\u2026. This also means providing fair and equitable access to opportunities for under-represented people including: Black, Indigenous, people of colour, the Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ (2SLGBTQ+) community and people living with disabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a good thing to accurately depict history. But the outsized focus on small subsets of the population and the insistence to tell \u201csocially responsible\u201d stories that jive with today\u2019s obsession with perfect ethnic representation in every institution is unlikely to accurately portray the past, as Canada was not as diverse back then as it is today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In practice, Parks Canada has set a number of practical goals to achieve total diversity. According to its 2023 departmental plan, an in-the-works DEI strategy would pilot an employee sponsorship program<\/a> for anyone who is not white, able-bodied and straight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As far as the telling of history goes, Parks Canada\u2019s transformation is best illustrated by its newest changes. The agency is currently reviewing<\/a> 210 historical designations for colonial assumptions, problematic terminology, controversial beliefs and behaviours, and the absence of \u201ca significant layer of history.\u201d These sites, which often acknowledge historical figures of note, may have their plaques edited \u2014 or removed entirely. While editing might be in order for some, the prospect of removal is chilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n An update to Parks Canada\u2019s management plan<\/a> for Anne of Green Gables-related sites on Prince Edward Island now seeks to \u201cshare more inclusive histories and seek to advance reconciliation\u201d \u2014 even though the Indigenous presence on the island when Lucy Maud Montgomery lived was likely low<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And most recently, the agency animated its strategic priority of \u201cdiversity\u201d at last weekend\u2019s opening event for Bellevue House. Reporting from the function, Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington quoted<\/a> Jarred Picher, a director at Parks Canada, telling the crowd that Macdonald\u2019s \u201cprime ministership has left deep harms that continue to be felt over 150 years later\u201d \u2014 an ominous message to inspire shame in the nation\u2019s founding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another speaker, Channon Oyeniran, a vice-president of the Ontario Black History Society with a very limited list of publications<\/a>, told<\/a> the Bellevue House crowd that Macdonald is remembered for his role in building the nation \u2014 but \u201che is also remembered for his harmful, discriminatory and exclusionary views and policies toward various racialized groups of people, including Indigenous Peoples, Chinese Canadians, Black Canadians and many more.\u201d She claimed that Canada was \u201csteeped in racism, colonialism, white supremacy and other legacies of enslavement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another speaker, Amy Go, president of the Chinese Canadian National Council For Social Justice, claimed that racist occurrences towards Asian Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic \u201ccan in many ways be traced back to the time when John A. Macdonald and other politicians of the day\u201d because they had \u201cportrayed Chinese as foreigners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forget Macdonald\u2019s architecting of the Canadian state, his vaccination and famine relief<\/a> programs, his belief in law and order and the protection of Indigenous subjects from violent Americans<\/a> to the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I haven\u2019t taken the \u201cUnpacking Macdonald\u201d tour at Bellevue House; when I asked Parks Canada for details about its content Friday, a representative offered to simply provide me (or a local Postmedia reporter) the tour. So, being in Alberta and thus unable to capitalize on the invitation, I can\u2019t rule out that Parks Canada includes nuanced and fair social context when recounting Macdonald\u2019s life. However, given the agency\u2019s big-picture plans, and the fact that the site\u2019s opening was clouded by community representatives airing their unresolvable historic grievances, I suspect it\u2019s unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parks Canada wants to tell a story that demoralizes the nation by painting its founder as a Hitlerian figure; proper context wouldn\u2019t allow for that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jamie Sarkonak: Parks Canada’s agenda to erode any pride for John A. Macdonald The agency is increasingly dedicating itself to the airing of unresolvable historic grievances Author of the article: Jamie Sarkonak Published May 21, 2024 \u2022 5 minute read 209 Comments Article content If you happen to be in Kingston, Ont. in the next […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2275,2418,2402,1028],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3351"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3352,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3351\/revisions\/3352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nationalpost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/0829-th-everything.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=uMl7vpus9i6i7PP1Igc04w\")
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