Group calling for removal of SJAM statue takes aim at Wilmot mayor

Following two closed door meetings by Wilmot Council, the group calling for the removal of the Sir John A. MacDonald statue issued a statement.

Friday afternoon at the SJAM statue in Baden, one of the organizers, Cheyanne Thorpe, spoke with the media, reaffirming the group's stance and taking aim at the mayor's response to the ongoing controversy.

“In the face of hate and inaction, there is a strong and growing local presence dedicated not only to the entire removal of the statue, but to protecting and amplifying the rights and voices of various diverse individuals, and residents of this region and beyond,” Thorpe said in a statement.

The group is calling for the removal of the SJAM statue for his role in establishing Canada's residential school system that saw hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children abused. They're also calling for the removal of the rest of the Prime Minister's Path.

The SJAM statue had been hit with vandalism three times in a single week, but just before the incident, Wilmot Mayor Les Armstrong had shared a Facebook video that included the title “White Lives Matter.” It featured two Black men calling the Black Lives Matter movement a scam.

In the following week, the mayor was battered with criticism calling out his insensitivity and lack of knowledge on the matter. Armstrong would dig in his heels, claiming it was to further discussion, but he would eventually issue a public apology. 

However, for many in the community, his apology felt less sincere and more obligatory; lacking meaningful action or acknowledgement of why his actions had hurt people. Following another council meeting where multiple delegates called for his resignation, Armstrong said he would try to make amends for his actions, but not resign.

“The pattern is already clear to many of us living here in Wilmot Township; without outside pressure, Mayor Armstrong will not seek to better himself,” she said.

Council then held two closed door meetings to discuss the ongoing controversies swirling around the township.

“These meetings were not only inaccessible to the greater public, but came at a time of vulnerability when many residents of our region are seeking acknowledgement and representation. The message these actions delivered is one of appeasement rather than genuine change,” Thorpe said.

“Mayor Les Armstrong would most certainly prefer that we just go away, that the whole issue goes away, that the vandalism could just be cleaned up, and that would be that.”

According to Thorpe, the mayor has not even attempted to reach out to their group to discuss their demands.

“Very clear from certain members of council and from Mayor Les Armstrong that he has no desire to reach out to us or hear us; or to acknowledge us in any way, shape or form,” she said. “The only acknowledgement we were paid in the ten minute segment I was allotted to speak at council, we did not feel as if he acknowledged any of our statements. We felt as if we were entirely dismissed.”

While Thorpe understands why some discretion must be exercised with the closed door meetings, she hopes there won't be any further ones, saying it was an important discussion that needs to take place with the community.

A petition is in the works and is currently gathering more input from other groups in the region, such as the Land Back Reclamation Camp currently occupying Victoria Park. The group is calling on the community to get involved, especially in the upcoming July 13 Wilmot council meeting.

The group also plans to hold a sit-in protest at the Baden statue every Saturday starting on July 11, from 2 to 9 p.m.