Parks Canada Agency has deferred the re-installation of the Samuel de Champlain statue at Orillia’s Couchiching Beach Park.
It says the decision was made to allow for additional progress on the implementation of the Samuel de Champlain Monument Working Group recommendations, to ensure an appropriate path forward for the Champlain Monument that is respectful and representative of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives.
The original monument portrayed Samuel de Champlain at the top of the podium, with four Indigenous figures at his feet.
The statue was supposed to be re-installed sometime this month, after being taken down in 2015 to be refurbished.
Key recommendations include:
- That the Samuel de Champlain Monument be re-installed with only the central figure of Samuel de Champlain atop the plinth and that this installation occur immediately.
- That the First Nations figures along with the figures of the Fur Trader and Missionary be the subject of further consultation with First Nations. It is the hope of the Samuel de Champlain Monument Working Group that future work, with the aim of re-imagining their presence in the immediate vicinity of the original Monument, will result in a meaningful and concrete example of Reconciliation.
- That the text of the original Monument’s “in-set plaque” be updated so that it will honour the original intent within the context of contemporary knowledge and wisdom.
- That additional interpretive signage/pieces be developed and created with the participation of First Nations representatives to tell a historically accurate story of Samuel de Champlain and his relationship with First Nations.
For more details on the decision, please click here.
A rally was recently held in Orillia against the re-installation of the monument and a petition has also been created, calling for the monument to never be replaced.
