A monument to Samuel de Champlain in Orillia is being reinstalled soon, but not without controversy.
The much-debated monument portrayed the French explorer along with several other figures, including four statues of First Nations people, which some considered racist.
Parks Canada owns the structure and took the monument down for refurbishing in 2017, after an assessment showed it was deteriorating two years prior.
A plaque accompanying the monument said it was meant to commemorate “the advent into Ontario of the white race.”
The plaque will now be updated as well as changes to the monument itself, but there is a renewed debate about whether the monument should be reinstated at all due to the controversy surrounding it.
CTV Barrie did a report on the story last night.
There’s renewed anger about a controversial monument on Orillia’s waterfront scheduled to return this summer. @LexyBenedictCTV reports https://t.co/lJkcIAee05
— CTV News Barrie (@CTVBarrieNews) June 29, 2020