The legacy of one of Kingston’s favourite sons is to come under scrutiny in a series of public consultations beginning next week.

On Thursday, the public can start submitting their opinions about Sir John A. Macdonald, either online at the city’s website or on comment cards that are to be posted on a wall in the Sir John A. Macdonald room at City Hall.

The public consultations begin at a time when municipalities across Canada are re-evaluating the place Canada’s first prime minister has in the country’s history.

“Sir John A. Macdonald is a very complicated historical figure and many people have a strong connection to him and his relationship to the growth of Canada and at the same time we have to find space to hear and to consider our relationship to those darker narratives,” said Jennifer Campbell, the city’s manager of cultural heritage.

The opposition to public memorials to Macdonald has increased in recent months because of his treatment of First Nations, including his role in the establishment of the residential school system.

While Kingston’s planned consultations follow the removal of statues of Macdonald from public display in Victoria B.C. and Montreal earlier this summer, Campbell said the local discussions were in the works for several months.

“This is a necessary conversation and it’s not just Sir John A. Macdonald, we need to talk about other histories and stories that we haven’t told in our museums,” Campbell said.

The online comments and comments cards are to be the initial phase of the consolation process that early in the new year is to expand to face-to-face meetings with community groups and members of the public.

“I think it is necessary for any city, and particularly for Kingston, to think about both components of the narrative and beyond.”

Kingston, more than most Canadian cities, has invested heavily in commemorating Macdonald. In addition to his statue in City Park, there is Engine 1095 “The Spirit of Sir John A.” in Confederation Park, a portrait in Memorial Hall and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard, the main road from Highway 401 to the Lake Ontario shore.

His statue in City Park was vandalized in 2014 and last year the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario called for Ecole Sir John A. Macdonald Public School to be renamed. Earlier this year, The Public House dropped Macdonald’s name from its sign.

In 2015, the city hosted a national celebration of the bicentennial of Macdonald’s birth.

Campbell said even that celebration was not all positive, with some discussion about his treatment of First Nations.

“It has continued since then,” Campbell said. “We have always had open conversations about what histories we need to be telling.”