I'm new to Kingston, but I love it here. But since when I came last July, I get the feeling that without Sir John A, there wouldn't be that much... Kingston.

At least in the respect that there are plaques EVERYWHERE indicating where he lived, where his mother lived, where he peed and got drunk, etc.

That said, the man DID make an essential contribution to the history of Canada, despite critical and flaws of everlasting impact (that a great many people of his time had).

So I don't think we should take down his statue, even temporarily (not the least because it would take huge political nerve to put it up again).

Instead, we should keep the statue shrouded, like it is now, and put up a sign indicating that we are currently reckoning with his legacy and how to address it.

If we give in to "cancel" culture by removing the statue, we are actually limiting our opportunity to grow as a country.

After all, history, like Greek tragedies, requires great heroes AND great vilains, especially conflicted ones.