Statue quo Archaeologist Jonathan Fowler dug deep to denigrate Edward Cornwallis, pointing out “many of our citizens fail to recognize the image of Pharaoh in the sword-clad, bronze Cornwallis with his puffed-out chest” (“Why Halifax’s Cornwallis should follow Montreal’s lead on the path to reconciliation,” Voice of The City, July 11). I suspect career soldier […]
Cornwallis
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Cornwallis task force public meetings scheduled for June
The city’s task force for the commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the recognition and commemoration of Indigenous history has announced four public consultation meetings will take place in June. The meetings invite Haligonians to have their say about recognizing and commemorating Indigenous history, which includes what to do about the Edward Cornwallis statue and similar […]
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Petition to rename Cornwallis Street delivered to city hall
“The statue coming down was a great first step, but there’s more that can be done,” says Angel Marcus-Panag. On Thursday, the Halifax resident went to City Hall and delivered his petition containing over 1,700 signatures in favour of renaming Cornwallis Street to Rocky Jones Boulevard. The vast majority of those names come from an […]
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Historian laureate needed in Halifax
In my time living in Halifax, I can say for certain two things: Our poet laureate position is incredibly valuable and our public conversation about heritage is terrible. These two things together make me certain that we need a historian laureate. It’s hard to argue against the impact of our poet laureate. The position has […]
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Relying on a statue in a park to tell our history is lazy
Thousands of tourists will visit Halifax this summer and return home without learning an inkling of its history, all because a statue is locked in storage in Burnside. I kid, of course. If you’re a tour guide or historian who needs a statue to accurately and comprehensively share the story of Halifax, you need to […]
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Cornwallis Street Baptist Church is now New Horizons
The former Cornwallis Street Baptist Church will now be known as New Horizons Baptist Church. Members voted on the new designation, which still needs to be approved by the Registry of Joint Stocks, after service this past Sunday. “The intent of the name change is to identify ourselves by a name that better reflects the […]
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Council finds Whitman breached code of conduct, released confidential information
Matt Whitman walked away from an in-camera discussion on public complaints held Tuesday, refusing to take part in a debate on councillor conduct largely centred on his own words and actions. It didn’t go his way. After a two-and-a-half hour discussion behind closed doors, council voted 12-3 that Whitman was guilty of breaching the municipal […]
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Matt Whitman stands by white supremacists’ message
All the people who don’t like Matt Whitman just don’t know the “real” Matt Whitman. So says Matt Whitman. “They just know the guy that criticized an RCMP officer for giving someone a ticket,” says the councillor. “Or the guy that ran around his car with his 19-year-old son after coming from a funeral.” Or […]
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Cornwallis statue is history
Edward Cornwallis is coming down off his pedestal, at least for a while. Halifax Regional Council voted Tuesday to remove the controversial bronze statue of the city’s founder and place it into temporary storage. There it will remain until a more permanent solution can be agreed upon in the spirit of truth and reconciliation. “We […]
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Mayor on Cornwallis panel: “I don’t really think it’s useful to point fingers”
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs wants immediate action. Halifax mayor Mike Savage, however, is looking forward to more conversation. On Friday afternoon the Assembly officially walked away from participating in HRM’s historical panel on the legacy of Edward Cornwallis. The Chiefs cited ongoing delays in dealing with city hall and called for the statue […]
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Mi’kmaq Chiefs call for immediate removal of Cornwallis statue
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs will no longer work with city hall on a solution to how Halifax commemorates its problematic founder, Edward Cornwallis. According to a press release sent out Friday afternoon, the Chiefs unanimously agree that the process to form the joint historical committee has “taken far too long and have […]
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Cornwallis panel nominee’s sexual assault conviction
One of the names put forward to judge the actions of Edward Cornwallis has a violent history of his own. Chief Wilbert Marshall, who has been selected by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs to help lead Halifax’s examination of the city’s controversial founder, was himself convicted of sexual assault 10 years ago. Marshall […]