Last minute item added to council’s agenda dealing with Cornwallis statue

HALIFAX - In a last minute item added to Tuesday’s Regional Council agenda, council will debate a recommendation to have the statue of the city’s founder put in storage while a solution on its future is found.

The added item obtained by News 95.7 on Monday evening comes days after the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs called on council to remove the statue of Edward Cornwallis immediately, arguing the current review of the statue is taking too long.

Council will debate a staff recommendation on Tuesday that the statue be put in storage temporarily and that council attempt to re-engage the assembly of Mi'kmaq chiefs through the mayor’s office.

Here’s the updated motion on the Cornwallis statue that will now go before council tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/KlWXN1RARh — Andrew Pinsent (@957Pinsent) January 29, 2018

Staff also recommends if talks fail with the assembly to re-assess how it moves forward with its review of how Cornwallis is commemorated around HRM.

With an upcoming rally scheduled in the south-end park bearing Cornwallis' name for Sunday, public safety concerns are cited as an immediate concern within the staff report, as the "stated aim of protestors is to bring down the Cornwallis statue."

The staff report says the latest rally "may be less peaceful than the protests of July 2017 and represent a significant risk for damage to the statue" due to "conflicts between protestors and counter-protestors."

As governor of Nova Scotia Cornwallis issued a bounty on Mi'kmaq scalps in 1749 and amid pressure from the Indigenous community last spring, council voted to form an expert panel on how to deal with the use of his name.

It was agreed that council and the assembly would each recommend four people for the panel.

In a statement released on Friday, the assembly said because of what it perceives as a lack of progress, the Chiefs “have therefore chosen to no longer participate in these panel discussions."

Mayor Mike Savage said in a statement over the weekend he shared disappointment in the speed of the process but hoped to re-engage the assembly as quickly as possible.

A contentious rally in July led to the statue being temporarily covered for the protest as council continued its work on the expert panel.