Cornwallis survives Halifax council vote on review of public commemoration – CP

Source: The Canadian Press
May 11, 2016

HALIFAX _ A Halifax councillor says a discussion about Edward Cornwallis is “inevitable,” despite a vote rejecting his proposal for a review of public sites named for the city’s founder.

City council vigorously debated a notice of motion Tuesday to consider updating municipal markers bearing Cornwallis’s name and rejected Councillor Waye Mason’s notice of motion in an 8-7 vote.

The motion revived a years-long heated controversy over Cornwallis’s treatment of indigenous people.

Cornwallis founded Halifax in 1749 and soon after issued a bounty on the scalps of Mi’kmaq men, women and children.

Mason told reporters outside council Tuesday that while he is upset with the outcome, the city is already engaged in a difficult discussion about its founder.

Members of Halifax’s aboriginal community have long called for removal of tributes to Cornwallis throughout the city, including a street and park named for the military leader and prominent statue downtown.

During the council debate, some councillors said they are fielding angry phone calls from citizens who want to preserve the city’s history.

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