What's wrong with this picture?

Here you see one of Walt's agents in conversation with a statue of Sir John Eh Macdonald (aka Sir John A. Macdonald), the first prime minister of Canada. The statue was erected in 1967 in beautiful downtown Charlottetown PEI, as a Centennial project.

What's wrong with it? It's actually a pretty good statue, in a genre that was popular until recently, showing historical or other figures standing or sitting in poses such that people can have their pictures taken with them. Any objections? Well yes... 

Sir John, very much a product of his times and Scottish origins, was a hard drinker ("Single malt, but make it a double!"), anti-French, and anti-Catholic. He was also determined to civilize the natives, by means such as sending their kids to residential schools where they could be turned into quasi-whites.

Today, Sir John is called a white supremacist by, among others, the Epekwitk Assembly of Councils, a joint forum that includes the councils of both Abegweit First Nation and Lennox Island First Nation. (For our American readers, "First Nations" is the current politically correct term for the people who used to be called "Indians".) 

In keeping with the current fad for iconoclasm, the Assembly petitioned the Charlottetown city council to "amend" the art installation and "tell the true story of this individual and begin to address the trauma that its presence is continuing to perpetuate." 

The councillors, with the exception of Clr Mike Duffy [That Mike Duffy? The erstwhile Senator? Ed.] voted to leave the statue where it is, albeit with some modifications. The assembly made five suggestions to the city, viz:

Add another figure, such as an Indigenous child or elder. 

Fill in or seal off the empty space on the bench so it can't be used for photo opportunities like this picture.

Install signage so viewers understand "the devastating role that Sir John A. Macdonald played in the Indigenous history of Canada." 

If the artist engaged is not Indigenous, a Mi'kmaw artist should be hired as a consultant.

Complete the work as soon as reasonably possible.

In voting against the resolution, Councillor Duffy referenced a survey last summer that indicated the majority of respondents wanted the statue to remain as is. The other councillors predictably said what the majority of the people want doesn't matter. Such are the times.