Secord Monument

The Municipality of Kincardine has decided to decommission the Secord Monument following community engagement and careful consideration.

This decision was made to reflect our commitment to inclusivity and respect for all residents. The Secord Monument has been the subject of significant debate, with many community members expressing concern about its presence in public spaces due to historical associations.

The Municipality engaged in a public consultation process, including surveys, public meetings, and one-on-one discussions with residents. The feedback indicated that relocating the monument would not address the concerns of those who feel that its presence in public spaces perpetuates harm.

The decision aligns with ethical guidance on public displays of controversial historical artifacts. Experts stress that while historical context is important, the public display of certain monuments can inadvertently serve as a platform that highlights divisive narratives rather than fostering understanding.

The Municipality of Kincardine remains committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all residents feel valued. This decision is a step toward ensuring that our public spaces reflect our shared values and serve as places of unity, not division.

Providing this information has to do with the difference between a confidential versus anonymous survey.

The words ‘anonymous’ and ‘confidential’ are often used synonymously when describing surveys. The Secord Monument Survey is a confidential survey, which means that the answers are linked back to personal information.

While overall survey responses will be shared and analyzed by the facilitator, the associated identity of the individual participants will never be shared/ reported or publicly tied to individual responses.

A confidential survey was chosen for this stage in the engagement process for the following reasons:

• Confidential surveys are useful because of the ability they provide to drill down into results of the survey.
• It allows the results to be segmented and analyzed by groups. Based on the segmented data it provides information about where potential issues or solutions lie.
• A confidential experience rather than an anonymous survey promotes social civility and reduces the incidence of rude or hurtful responses.

About confidentiality

Given the confidential nature of the survey, it is important to emphasize that there is no intention of disclosing participant details. Rather, this confidential survey allows us to document trends in the survey responses. This will help us better inform council about the desires and needs of the Kincardine community while reserving the option of following up with individual survey participants should it be necessary.

Anonymous surveys

In contrast, when participation is anonymous it is impossible to know how many times a Kincardine resident has participated in the survey, or if people responding are from our community. We want to ensure that everyone has the chance to share their insights equitably, and being able to connect individual responses to actual residents allow us to ensure that our focus remains on the Kincardine community.

An ethnicity survey question is often part of a survey’s section where you ask for demographic information. Demographic questions help to clarify the characteristics of the population being surveyed (in this case, Kincardine residents). Collecting this information not only allows us to ensure that we get representation from the diverse groups that make up your community, but it also helps us avoid assuming that survey participants are of a certain demographic.

This information will be kept confidential, and you will also have the choice to skip over the question if you prefer not to answer.

Here are some examples of how you can respond to an ethnicity or race question:

• White
• Canadian
• English
• German
• Scottish
• Chinese
• Italian
• Indian
• First Nations
• Afro American
• Hispanic or Latino
• Etc.

Personal information is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act for the purpose of creating a record to be used for analyzing survey results related to the Secord Monument. Questions about the collection of the personal information may be addressed to the Clerk of the Municipality of Kincardine, 1475 Concession 5, R.R. 5, Kincardine, Ontario N2Z 2X6. Phone: 519-396-3468 ext. 7111.

Personal information collected will be protected under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) and be subject to the exemptions in the Act. Per this Act, personal information including information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or marital or family status of the individual will be protected and will be redacted in any public report.

On January 24, 2024, Council directed that external consultant(s) be engaged to provide advice on the process and to assist in the facilitation of a public engagement process regarding equity, diversity and inclusion, in order to assist Council in its decision-making related to the Secord Monument.

The facilitator hired is not making a recommendation to Council. The facilitator is collecting and presenting information gathered from the community to assist council in its decision making.

With the construction work complete, Council has decided that now is the time to provide the opportunity for community members to voice their opinions, concerns, and perspectives regarding the monument. This input will help Council make an informed decision related to the Secord Monument given that it cannot return to its original location.

The purpose of the public engagement process is to invite individuals with differing views to engage in respectful dialogue and discussion. Through the conversations we hope to hear perspectives from diverse voices and consider the impact of their beliefs on others.

Through the engagement process it is important to Council that we create an environment where all members of the community feel valued and respected, and that this is part of a broader effort to promote and support actions to achieve equity and inclusivity.

We choose to leave the comment sections open on the majority of our social media platforms so there can be dialogue about the items we post. These conversations can include both negative and positive perspectives, both of which can help us to learn more about the topic.

We do monitor the comments that happen on these public forums to ensure that they stick to our guidelines for respectful conversation:

Posts that are not acceptable will be removed for the following reasons:

• Provides the personal information of individual;
• Promotes, perpetuates or fosters discrimination based on race, creed, colour, age, religion, gender, marital status, nationality, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
• Is profane or abusive;
• Is sexually explicit or link to content that is sexually explicit;
• Conducts or encourages illegal activity;
• Is non-Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine related business advertising and or promotions;
• Is for the purpose of promoting a candidate for municipal, provincial or federal election;
• Personal attacks on individuals or specific groups;
• Any content that is believed to be inappropriate in the opinion of the Municipality of Kincardine.

We are sharing copies of all comments regarding the Secord Monument public engagement with the facilitator, including those which are removed.

Please remember that hateful commentary takes a mental toll on our audience and on our staff, who are responsible for keeping the conversation healthy for others. Please, be respectful.

Public engagement has ended.

Following the engagement, Dr. Lindo worked on summarizing what she heard throughout the public engagement process.

This summary was presented to Council on July 24, 2024 and is available on this webpage.

Research on historical information and timelines surrounding the installation of both monuments was conducted and many secondary sources were collected. Learn more about primary and secondary sources from The University of Massachusetts Boston Healey Library.