Tell the whole story

Kingston is one of the oldest cities in the country and it shows — in the limestone, the fortifications, the waterfront, the neighbourhoods people have lived in for two hundred years. That's worth protecting, and protection costs money and attention that heritage buildings don't always get.

On commemoration, and specifically the Sir John A. Macdonald statue:

I think a city should be able to interpret its history rather than hide it or sanitize it. Macdonald was a founder of this country and he was central to the residential school system. Both are true. A place that can only tell one of those stories isn't telling history — it's telling a preference.

Council already directed a path in 2021: relocation to Cataraqui Cemetery, where Macdonald is buried, with Indigenous consultation. I'd want that completed properly, with meaningful Indigenous participation and full interpretation — the founding and the harm, the whole truth in the same place, so people encounter both.

Council hasn't re-opened this file, I will support broad public consultation before a decision is made. I will seek consensus on the best way to make Kingston's heritage available and accessible to all.

On heritage generally

• Protect the buildings and streetscapes that make this city what it is
• Make heritage designation workable for owners rather than purely a burden
• Interpretation that includes Indigenous history, working-class history, and the parts that aren't comfortable
• Adaptive reuse because an empty heritage building serves nobody

A place that can only tell one side of its history isn't telling history. It's telling a preference and censoring the truth.