BIA demanding removal of Alexander Wood statue in gay village

The Church-Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area is demanding the removal of a bronze statue of a man linked to residential schools.

The statue of Alexander Wood sits at the northwest corner of Church Street and Alexander Street.

In an open letter to Mayor John Tory, the BIA says the statue should be removed as soon as possible because Wood was the treasurer and a founding member of an organization that created a residential school in Sault Ste. Marie. The school was finally closed in 1978.

The Church-Wellesley Village BIA is demanding that @cityoftoronto removes the Alexander Wood statue in #ChurchWellesley . Please see our letter to @JohnTory pic.twitter.com/EpXHxiQqOP

— The Village (@ChurchWellesley) June 8, 2021

The letter says leaving the statue in place would send a clear message to the two-spirit community that racism is being allowed to continue, and in fact being iconized in Toronto.

The BIA is recommending the city use the space for a project that is two-spirit advised, with the cost to be shared between the business improvement area and the city.

The BIA’s demand comes after a statue of Egerton Ryerson was toppled on Sunday night at Ryerson University.

Hamilton public school board votes to rename Ryerson Elementary School

Hamilton’s public school board has voted to rename Ryerson Elementary School and says it will review the names of all its facilities to ensure they align with current values.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board says it’s taking action in light of the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

Egerton Ryerson is considered an architect of Canada’s residential school system.

The Hamilton board says an Indigenous-led process will be created to examine all its school names.

A school board in London, Ont., is also considering whether to rename Ryerson Public School, along with Sir John A. Macdonald Public School, named after Canada’s first prime minister.

The Thames Valley District School Board says its review would look at all its schools and facilities to ensure their names reflect the board’s values.

In Toronto, Ryerson University created a task force to review its namesake after calls for immediate action.

With files from The Canadian Press