Kincardine council has made the decision to decommission the Second Secord Monument that once stood outside the local library.
The monument honouring Dr. Solomon Secord, a local doctor who served with the Confederacy during the American Civil War, was removed during last year's construction, and since then, the municipality has had a long discussion on what could be done with it.
After a lengthy process that included public consultation, facilitated by Dr. Laura Mae Lindo, council determined that decommissioning the Second Secord Monument was the best choice to honour the municipality's commitment to inclusivity.
"Another thing that we have discovered, I think corporately, is we are not anti-Black racism experts," said Mayor Ken Craig. "As such, we have valued the input of our community, of our consultant, and we acknowledge we are here as best we can, to represent the interests of the Municipality of Kincardine. Research has shown that education and contextualization, at least as I had originally thought appropriate, is likely beyond the scope of our municipal resources."
The municipality said it reached out to multiple locations about possibly hosting a recontextualized monument, but all declined.
Online discussion around the monument reached toxic levels over the summer, with the municipality closing the comments section on social media posts about the monument, due to racist remarks and threats.
Deputy Mayor Andrea Clarke said when the process started, she was in favour of recontextualizing the monument, but over the last year, her conscious shifted to decommissioning.
"We have to understand that the removal of a statue, does not end racism." she said. "We must make a commitment to educate ourselves and others. This is one part of the journey that we must address, both from a point of substantive nature, through education, but also from a symbolic nature, and that is the removal of this statue. Should there be a vote taken tonight, I will certainly call for a recorded vote, and I will allow history to be the judge of whether I'm on the right side of it."
Mayor Craig clarified before a vote, that decommissioning the monument would mean its destruction.
"We're not going to bury it under a road someplace, it will be not put in storage, it will not be thrown in the landfill. It will be destroyed in a fashion that is somehow respectful. I'm not sure what that looks like or how it's done, but there's a process for flags, I'm sure our staff will find a means and methods by which it is no longer available for usage."
The vote passed 7 to 1, with Councillor Bill Stewart the lone vote against.
"This issue should in no way have ever came up to council," he said. "It's caused us to fracture the community and fracture the council. This is really unfortunate, our responsibility to the community is not to be the moral compass... I just think it's really difficult and I'm sorry that we do have to make a decision, because we can't keep using our time on these issues. I know it's important to the community and a lot of individuals around the table, but it's not really what we're voted for."
A monument to Dr. Secord still remains in the Kincardine Cemetery.
In a media release, the municipality said it will continue to engage with the community on matters of historical representation and inclusivity, exploring alternate ways to educate and honour the past without compromising the principals that make Kincardine a vibrant and inclusive place to live.