Orillia removes man from Hall of Fame due to his promotion of residential schools
Orillia is set to remove Thomas Gummersall Anderson from its Hall of Fame after an investigation revealed his promotion of residential schools for Indigenous people and his limited impact on the city.
"We were celebrating through the Hall of Fame someone who caused great harm to a group of people," said City Councillor Janet-Lynne Durnford.
Gummersall was born in 1779 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1993.
"He considered the Indigenous population to be savages he wanted. You know he felt they needed to be rescued to be civilized," said Dunford.
A committee that investigated his past concluded that the rationale behind his selection for the city's Hall of Fame should be recorded.
Charles Penny was a committee member responsible for investigating Anderson's past.
"He really did not have a major tie to the City of Orillia, and in the criteria, you are to have an impact on the City of Orillia, you are to be recognized as national or international figure and we felt there was not a tie a strong enough tie to the City of Orillia," said Penny.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
Anderson was responsible for establishing the first native reserve in the Coldwater area. He then moved those First Nations from Coldwater so white settlers could take over the land.
The City plans to remove Anderson's portrait from the Hall of Fame wall and his biography from a book highlighting Hall inductees. City council will officially vote to have Thomas Gummersall Anderson removed from Orillia's city's Hall of Fame later this month.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
A fast-moving wildfire has hit Jasper, Alberta, destroying buildings and chasing some wildland firefighters away with dangerously poor air quality.
Jasper mayor says alert system to be reviewed after message 'glitch'
More than 25,000 people have been displaced from Jasper National Park since wildfires started to threaten the picturesque corner of Alberta Rockies on Monday, but the mayor of its namesake municipality says not everyone received an evacuation alert when it was sent out.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Alberta calls in army to assist with wildfire situation
Alberta has called in the Canadian Armed Forces to help assist with the worsening wildfire situation in the province.
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
Vacations, meals, booze: Contractor used $100K of charity's money for personal expenses, B.C. court finds
A B.C. man who was hired to help a non-profit build a food hub but instead spent the money on personal expenses – including travel, restaurants, booze and cannabis – has been ordered to pay more than $120,000 in damages.