Cornwallis statue, park and street need to go: Halifax task force

HALIFAX – A task force created by Halifax Regional Council is recommending a statue dedicated to the city's founder, Edward Cornwallis, be permanently removed from the public square.

In its report published today, the task force is also recommending council rename a park and street honouring Cornwallis, the British officer accused of practising genocide against the local Indigenous population.

The city had temporarily removed the Cornwallis statue from the downtown park that bears his name in January 2018, pending a review of the task force, a joint initiative of regional council and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs.

Its report recommends the statue be held in storage until it can be displayed in a civic museum created by council.

The task force says Cornwallis Park should be renamed “Peace and Friendship Park'' and should be repurposed for the creation of a performance space.

It also recommends that Cornwallis Street be renamed New Horizons Street, subject to approval by the congregation of the New Horizons Baptist Church.

The Canadian Press