Mayor of Terry Fox's hometown slams 'appropriation' of Ottawa statue during anti-mandate protest
The mayor of Terry Fox's hometown is speaking out against what he calls the "appropriation" of the Canadian athlete's legacy during the anti-vaccine mandate rally in Ottawa on Saturday.
The Terry Fox Memorial Sculpture, a bronze statue of the cancer research activist near Parliament Hill, was used to hold a protest placard with the words “Mandate Freedom.”
A Canadian flag was also fastened like a cape around the statue's neck, while a pole with an upside down flag was placed near one of the hands, giving the appearance of Fox's statue waving the inverted flag.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West says Fox is a national inspiration and a unifying force, adding that, whatever the cause, no one should “appropriate his legacy” or touch his statue.
West says in a tweet that the poster and flags should be removed immediately, prompting Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson to reply that he has asked city staff to do just that.
The image from the protest is garnering a range of responses, including from the Terry Fox Foundation, which tweeted that “Terry believed in science and gave his life to help others,” and the foundation continues Fox's mission of funding cancer research.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2022.
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