Egerton Ryerson Statue and TRC Plaque

Toronto Metropolitan University’s Aboriginal Education Council (2010, August). Egerton Ryerson,
the Residential School System and Truth and Reconciliation. 1-7: https://www.ryerson.ca/aec/about/

• Egerton Ryerson was aCanadian who lived in the 19th Century and played an important role in politics, religion, arts, sciences, and education.
• Toronto Metropolitan University was named Ryerson University after Egerton Ryerson because of his influence in creating free and compulsory public education system. The Ryerson name was adopted in 1948.
• Egerton Ryerson created the Normal School, Toronto’s first teacher’s college in mid-1800s; the façade forms the entrance to the University’s Recreation and Athletic Centre,
• He believed in separate systems of education for White and Aboriginal children.
• Religious beliefs played a role in the establishment of the Residential School System.
• Ironically, he supported separating the Church and state within education but within residential schools, he believed that government and churches should be partners.
• Residential schools were first called manual labour schools, industrial schools, and boarding schools.
• Egerton Ryerson was the Chief Superintendent of Education in Upper Canada at the time.
• He explained that the end goal was not for learning but to make industrious farmers.
• Ryerson was involved in a report on Industrial Schools for Indians and Half Breeds, which was used to convince the McDonald government to begin industrial schools in the 1800s.
• The residential schools’ primary objectives were to remove and isolate Indigenous children from their culture, tradition, language, community, and parents. The effects are still felt by the Indigenous community through Intergenerational trauma resulting in disproportionate rates of addiction, suicide, and loss of self-identity.
• Residential schools “denied their identities, languages and cultures as Aboriginal people which is known as ‘cultural genocide’” (p. 4)
• Toronto Metropolitan University is committed to acknowledging the role Egerton Ryerson had in conceptualizing residential schools and is committed to welcoming and respecting Aboriginal people

Alozzi, R. (2018). Ryerson Unveils Plaque Recognizing its Racist History. The Eye
Opener: https://theeyeopener.com/2018/06/ryerson-unveils-plaque-recognizing-its-racist-history/

• Beside the Egerton Statue, a Truth and Reconciliation plaque was unveiled on June 25th, 2018 to recognize Egerton Ryerson’s namesake and his role in
  Canada’s racist residential school system
• The ceremony for the plaque does not mark a beginning or an end, but a step towards a long process of reconciliation

Sloan, W. (2018). Plaque Unveiling a Step Towards Truth and Reconciliation. TorontoMet
Today: https://www.torontomu.ca/news-events/news/2018/07/plaque-unveiling-a-step-towards-truth-and-reconcilliation/#:~:text=The%20university%20pledged%20to%20unveil,%2C%20emotional%20and%20physical%20damage.%22

• The Toronto Metropolitan University community has installed a plaque by the statue of Egerton Ryerson, contextualizing his role in the creation of Canada’s residential school system.
• The plaque reads, “This plaque serves as a reminder of Ryerson University’s commitment to moving forward in the spirit of truth and reconciliation. Egerton
  Ryerson is widely known for his contributions to Ontario’s public educational system. As Chief Superintendent of Education, Ryerson’s recommendations
  were instrumental in the design and implementation of the Indian Residential School System. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported that
  children in the schools were subjected to unthinkable abuse and neglect, to medical experimentation, punishment for the practice of cultures or languages
  and death. The aim of Residential School System was cultural genocide.” The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimates that there are 80,000
  survivors and the passing on of unresolved trauma created an intergenerational legacy of the residential school system
• Senator Sinclair said, “it was education that got us into this mess – it’s going to be education that gets us out of it, and Ryerson is leading the way”

CBC/Radio Canada. (2021, June 7). Statue of Egerton Ryerson, toppled after Toronto rally, ‘will not be restored or replaced’ | CBC news. CBCnews: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/statue-of-egerton-ryerson-brought-down-1.6055676

• In recent years, many students and faculty expressed their opinions and perspectives on the Egerton Ryerson statue, expressing the need for the statue to be removed due to Egerton Ryerson being involved in the horrific tragedy of residential schools.
• In June 2021, after the remains of over 200 Indigenous children buried on the site of a former residential school in British Columbia were found, the Egerton Ryerson statue was removed by protestors in Toronto.
• The removal of the statue was seen by many as an act of justice. Many individuals expressed how the statue should have been removed many years ago due to its symbolization of racism and oppression towards the Indigenous community.
• The removal of the statue is seen as a new beginning for the university.

Update on university renaming process and Timeline. Ryerson University. (2022, March 1): https://www.torontomu.ca/news-events/news/2022/03/update-on-university-renaming-process-and-timeline/

• After the events in the summer of 2021, the university underwent a renaming process.
• “As universities and other institutions across Canada grapple with the deep and wide consequences of colonialism, Ryerson’s commitment to renaming is an important contribution to the practices of anti-colonialism and equity. The renaming process provides the opportunity for the university community to build on our commitment to boldness, relevance, and change, and to embrace a new name that can speak to our collective aspirations and hopes for the future.”
• The University Renaming Advisory Committee (URAC) developed a short list of names for the university which was sent to President Lachemi at the end of the winter semester of 2022.
• Many faculty and students used “X University” until a new name was given to the university.
• “From October through January, the committee worked with a research firm to develop, implement, and analyze an extensive community engagement and input process.”
• URAC invited students and faculty to contribute ideas in November and December of 2021 to the renaming of the university. Over 30,000 participants provided their input which contributed to the short list of names the committee provided to President Lachemi.

Leach, J. (2022, April 26). Ryerson University changing its name to Toronto Metropolitan University. Toronto Metropolitan University: https://www.torontomu.ca/media/releases/2022/04/ryerson-university-changing-its-name-to-toronto-metropolitan-uni/

• On April 26, 2022, Ryerson University changed its name to Toronto Metropolitan University.
• “I cannot think of a better name than Toronto Metropolitan University,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Mohamed Lachemi. “Metropolitan is a reflection of who we have always been – an urban institution dedicated to excellence, innovation, and inclusion and who we aim to be – a place where all feel welcome, seen, represented and celebrated.”