Several Halifax councillors have received some backlash after voting 12-4 in favour of removing the Edward Cornwallis statue from a city park.
Councillor Lisa Blackburn says her email inbox is overwhelming these days.
“I knew the decision was going to leave some people unhappy, but I wasn't prepared for the tone of the response,” Blackburn says. “Many of the emails that I received were just downright, blatantly racist.”
On Twitter, councillor Matt Whitman “liked” a tweet by a group called ID Canada. The tweet details a letter the group is sending to the city, saying that the "arrogance of Halifax city council has not gone unnoticed.”
In response, fellow councillor Waye Mason scolded Whitman for tweeting what he says is a "Neo-Nazi hate group,” and said he was "speechless."
Whether the statue should be removed has quickly become a hotly-contested conversation.
“I don't think it's right,” says one Halifax resident. “He was the founder of Halifax. He should stay there, and if they want to put other people, other statues in the same area, go ahead. But I think it's a waste of money to take it down.”
“Why is this man being honoured in the way he is in such a public space?” another Halifax resident says. “I think it's for the best, and I think it's a step towards what is a long process of reparations that needs to be made.”
At Mount Saint Vincent University, the school celebrated their first Mi'kmaq winter feast, and speaker Catherine Martin said it was a celebratory affair with Cornwallis gone.
“Taking down a statue is one thing, but a little more work has to be done. So I think it's a fantastic day, and it's a very emotional day for me,” says Martin.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Emily Baron Cadloff.
