Cuthand: Canada's learned history needs a rewrite To know where we are going as a nation, we have to understand where we came from. Then we can move forward together. Author of the article: Doug Cuthand • Saskatoon StarPhoenix Publishing date: Apr 03, 2021 • April 3, 2021 • 4 minute read Doug Cuthand Photo by Liam Richards /The StarPhoenix Article content This week, Regina city council voted to remove the statue of John A. Macdonald from Victoria Park. This will no doubt be lauded or demonized, depending on the person’s point of view. It’s hard for a country to admit that its first prime minister was a racist who encouraged the development of the residential school system and was behind the hanging of Louis Riel. The hanging was widely condemned in French Canada and basically blocked the Conservative Party in Quebec until Brian Mulroney was able to carry the province.