Wilmot councillors to review Prime Ministers Path recommendations ahead of community meeting

New recommendations have been made about Wilmot’s controversial Prime Ministers Path project. CTV’s Colton Wiens tells us why they are stirring up the statue de

A controversial project was once again up for discussion at Monday night’s council meeting in Wilmot Township.

Councillors were presented with a list of recommendations for the Prime Ministers Path. They were put together by a working group after a series of public meetings, surveys and polls. In all, they said 10,000 people weighed in on the future of the project.

“This engagement process was really an opportunity to listen to the community, to connect with the community, listen to the community and really get a sense of where people were at, and how the community could move forward,” explained Denise Soueidan-O’Leary, one of the co-leads for the PMP Working Group. “I think that this issue really polarized the community.”

The six recommendations put forward were as follows:

1. Create an independent committee, which does not report to council, to determine the project’s next steps and ensure diverse voices are represented
2. Seek out public and private grants for the project (so no operational funds are used)
3. Include Indigenous and other diverse voices in the process
4. Future installments should keep education in mind (context and critical reflection)
5. Displays should invite engagement, not just passive interactions
6. Project should “actively support truth-telling, healing and long-term reconciliation goals”

“The community was very adamant that that funding dollars don’t come from the township coffers,” Soueidan-O’Leary said. “And that all capital expenses should be private, either raised through fundraising efforts or should be privately donated.”

Residents were also not happy with where the Prime Minister’s Path was set up.

“Part of the problem with the last iteration of this was that folks were exposed to something that they didn’t agree with in a way that didn’t allow for them to choose to interact with it,” said Soueidan-O’Leary. “So, choosing a location, whether that’s Castle Kilbride or not, that allows for folks to have informed consent about whether or not they’re participating in this display.”

The project began in 2013 and was meant to include 22 statues of former Prime Ministers. Organizers struggled, however, to find a permanent home for the collection.

In 2016, without public consultation, Wilmot council approved the project and decided it would be set up in front of Castle Kilbride in Baden.

The problems began in 2020, after the statue of Sir John A. MacDonald was repeatedly doused in red paint and community members staged sit-ins to protest the prime minister’s role in the residential school system.

A year later, the First Peoples Group urged an immediate removal of the statues. They also asked council to halt all investment and expansion into the project. The sculptures were removed that same summer.

More meeting debate

Despite not participating in the working group’s meetings, Councillors Lillianne Dunstall and Kris Wilkinson raised concerns about the process. They felt constituent concerns were not heard and claimed the consultants were driving a narrative.

Wilkinson, who represents Ward 2, then asked the group to present evidence of their findings.

“I would request that I receive that information,” the councillor said. “And as well, again, provide evidence to support the positions that have been taken here.”

“I don’t see a problem with that,” Skinner replied. “It’s just, it’s a lot of data.”

Community reaction

Nine delegates also shared their differing opinions on the Prime Minister’s Path. Some argued the statues would bring tourism to the community.

“It will benefit Wilmot Township in many ways,” one delegate said.

Another argument was that the project would promote greater awareness of our country’s complicated history.

“Through these past leaders and their accomplishments, we can learn the story of Canada from Confederation on,” said another. “We can examine the qualities that made them effective leaders, or perhaps in many cases, not so effective leaders.”

Others shared the pain and hurt they felt when they saw the Prime Ministers Path.

“These statues have created so much divide in this community,” one delegate stated. “You would never ask an abused person to take space where the abuse took place.”

“[We] have to continue to be reminded of these things as people who did not experience them, so that they don’t happen again or don’t continue to happen,” another argued.

“My hope, with sharing the personal impacts that the first Prime Minister has inflicted on my family, is to bring an understanding to community members who do not share our lived experiences,” a third explained.

What’s next

The recommendations were officially presented to council on Monday night, but councillors are not expected to make any decisions on the Prime Ministers Path anytime soon.

A community meeting will be held on May 28 to discuss the recommendations, then feedback will be collected and presented to councillors.

“Council will decide that and direct us as to how they want that community gathering to go,” explained Soueidan-O’Leary. “I think, at the end of the day, what this provides is this is not a ‘yes’ to statues or ‘no’ to statues. The idea is the statues can come back. Absolutely. If these conditions or these recommendations are accounted for and met.”

She sees a path forward for the project.

“We need to honor those folks who struggle with the statues or who have issues, who have concerns and trauma around Canada’s history and honoring those pieces as well,” Soueidan-O’Leary said.

Council was expected to debate the matter again in June, but that meeting had to pushed back to July 28.