Vandalized with anti-Ford graffiti, statues at Queen’s Park are getting wrapped up
The “Chud Ford” messages seem to have struck a nerve
Eight statues around Queen’s Park will be covered in protective wrapping before what could shape up to be a spring of discontent.
The measures follow the vandalism of a bust of George Brown, which stands just outside the legislature’s main entrance, during a protest over OSAP cuts earlier this month, reports CBC News. The plinth supporting the figure was defaced with numerous anti-Doug Ford slogans, including “Chud Ford” and “Fuck Ford”—not things a premier wants to see out the window.
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House Speaker Donna Skelly said the damages took $5,000 to repair, and the wraps coming to other statues nearby are a protective measure against similar vandalism. “As long as we have protestors who may be breaking the law, I’m assuming they will continue to wrap the statues,” Skelly said.
For his part, Ford gave leave for protestors to “do cartwheels, jump up and down, whatever [they] want” outside of Queen’s Park—so long as they didn’t touch the decorations. He referred to the statues as “the taxpayer’s property,” and said the fact they had to be wrapped was “ridiculous.”
Related: Doug Ford told protesters to “go find a job”
MPPs will return to Queen’s Park next week for their next legislative session, and there’s plenty of controversial stuff on the menu: students remain incensed about OSAP changes, and Ford is pushing through restrictions to government transparency, both of which could give sharpie-armed protestors much to write about.
While property destruction is generally frowned upon, it’s hard to think of a more classic form of democratic dissent than scrawling anti-establishment slogans in the public square. Unless they’re made from some anti-stick material, these new wrappers are sure to pick up some marks of their own. Today’s wrappers could become tomorrow’s protest banners.
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
