Orillia seeks ownership of federal land where controversial monument once stood

Nearly a decade after a controversial monument of Samuel de Champlain was removed in Couchiching Beach Park in Orillia, the City wants to regain ownership of the land where it once stood.

On Monday, city council passed a motion that would see the City ask Parks Canada to transfer the land back to Orillia.

"I think it's time," said Mayor Don McIsaac. "We just finished the boat ramp, and we finished the revitalization of our beautiful waterfront. So now, the next step is Terry Fox Circle. We're working on plans to resurface it, and the plinth is within the area, so we just thought it was time to do that."

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A monument of Samuel de Champlain has stood at the heart of Couchiching Beach Park since 1925, and ownership of the monument and its land was ceded to the federal government in 1955.

It was removed for refurbishment in 2017 but was already considered to be racist by critics at the time for its portrayal of Indigenous people. The original monument portrays Samuel de Champlain at the top of the podium, with four Indigenous figures at his feet.

After several attempts by a working group comprised of Parks Canada, the City, Chippewas of the Rama First Nation and Huron-Wendat First Nation to return an altered version of the statue, the decision was eventually deferred and shelved indefinitely.

Now, all that remains of the monument is the base.

"The first step is to get the land back, and then we need to figure out what to do with the next step, which is what to do with the monument," the mayor said. "There's a faction that says to bring it back exactly, there's another that says 'no no, we don't ever want to see it again.' Not everybody is going to like it, but we need to be conscious of what the community is asking for and what the community's voice is."

Reopening that conversation is painful for some opposed to the monument's return.

Amanda Dale is the director of Bear Waters Gathering, an Indigenous Educational Centre in the Heart of Muskoka.

"When they say this is a differing of opinions, it's heartbreaking," Dale told CTV News. "It's not a difference of opinion; there's fact, and then there's opinion, and Indigenous people talked about the fact of the statue, the fact of history, the fact of the harm of the ideologies were perceived in this statue."

Dale added that the monument misrepresented history and perpetuated a narrative of colonialism.

"At the same time, it's laughable because it's ridiculous that we're still in the same spot that we were a decade ago," Dale said.

CTV News reached out to the Rama First Nation for comment but was declined.

McIsaac, recognizing the monument's strong emotion, said that the City wants to hear from as many stakeholders as possible.

"I'm taking input from everybody, but this is Orillia's monument. This really is Orillia's issue to deal with, but we'll take input from all stakeholders."

Parks Canada said it had yet to receive a formal request from the City, which was confirmed by the mayor as its request has not yet gone out.