The recent controversies over tearing down the statues of Canadian heroes because some of their actions have offended our modern sensibilities needs some historical context.
No one, no matter how revered, ever lived without flaws. Louis Riel, lauded for the founding of Manitoba, ended his life as a false messiah who wanted to rename the North Star after his sister, and move the papacy to Montreal; a failed leader whose decisions brought ruin on the Métis of the Northwest. Yet we have erected statues of Riel and name a public holiday after him.
