WLU setting up a Special Advisory Committee to help Prime Ministers Statues Project move forward
Posted Nov 5, 2015 03:34:14 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Wilfrid Laurier University is hoping a Special Advisory Committee will help the controversial Prime Ministers Statues Project move forward.
President and Vice-Chancellor Max Blouw made the announcement Thursday afternoon.
The committee will include representatives from multiple groups including the Aboriginal Initiatives office, Diversity and Equity office, as well as the university Senate, and Board of Governors.
“The discussion at Senate and the ensuing public discourse on the PM statues project has illustrated a wide divergence of views about Canada’s prime ministers and about the project’s objectives,” said Blouw.
“I ask that the Special Advisory Committee meet with the range of individuals involved in the PM statues project, including the community partners, and report back to me early in the New Year with a recommendation on how best to proceed. In my role as president, I will bring the final recommendations from the committee back to both the Senate and the Board of Governors.”
Director of Communications, Kevin Crowley says they’ve seen a lot of negative attention about the project.
“What we’re trying to do here is re-set the tone of the discussion. The university has acknowledged that there should have been more consultation prior to a decision being made. What we’re trying to do now is to accommodate that that discussion and that consultation.”
Crowley says the group will be asked three key questions:
“Is there a way to move this project forward and to represent the Prime Ministers on our campus? And if there is, how do we do that most effectively, and how do that in a way that’s accountable to the views of the university? The third question is: are there any individuals or moments in our history that should be included?”
While the statues proposal was approved by the university’s Board of Governors on June 25, in October, the university Senate approved a motion opposing the project and asked the Board to cancel the university’s involvement in it.
Blouw adds “I would like to emphasize two points. First, the PM statues project was initiated in good faith and with the best of intentions. Second, as a university community it is essential that we encourage and welcome reasoned, respectful, and informed discussions, no matter what the issue.”
Click here for President and Vice-Chancellor Max Blouw’s statement about the Special Advisory Committee.
