Wilmot councillor calls for funding pause on PM path

A councillor in Wilmot Township says funding for the Prime Minister's Path in Baden should be put on hold.

Councillor Angie Hallman called on Mayor and council during a meeting this week to halt funding and any further expansion until they can consult with First Nations groups, Friendship Centres and other impacted groups.

She pointed out one of the two incidents of vandalism involving the Sir John A. Macdonald statue happened on Sunday, which was Indigenous Peoples Day.

“With the red paint representing blood on the hands of our complicated Canadian history, I'm sorry this is something…it's been a big journey for me, and learning our very complicated Canadian history,” Hallman said.

She added with the PM's path, and the discussions that should be happening, “it's a very colonial mindset for us to continue this conversation without inviting other people to the table.”

“To share how they view, and their insights, and their conversations and the complicated Canadian history that we have, on how this needs to move forward,” Hallman continued.

She said it's not a story that needs to be told from one side only.

“It needs to be a deep conversation, that involves many aspects of our community,” Hallman noted.

“To tell the story of Canada, the full story of Canada.”