Assiniboine Park wants city to find new home for Ten Commandments monument

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy is asking the city to find a new home for a religious monument engraved with the Ten Commandments over concerns it could make the park less welcoming.

The monument was gifted to the city in 1965 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles and was placed in Assiniboine Park, where it stood for more than 50 years. It was removed in 2017 during the construction of The Leaf. The Conservancy said there was uncertainty about what to do with the monument, so it was put in storage where it has sat ever since.

While it notes the monument – engraved with the set of biblical principles that are central to Judaism and Christianity – is part of Winnipeg's history, the conservancy is wondering if the park is the best place for it.

“(Assiniboine Park Conservancy) has considered this matter very carefully, in light of recent debate about historical monuments, and believe that reinstalling the monument may make the park feel less welcoming for some members of our community,” the conservancy said in a submission to the city's Welcoming Winnipeg initiative.

Welcoming Winnipeg provides recommendations to the city for changes to historical markers and place names to ensure Indigenous perspectives are included.

The conservancy said it had approached the Fraternal Order of Eagles to see if they would want to move the monument to a new location, but those plans fell through.

Winnipeg philanthropist Gail Asper, chair of The Asper Foundation, has thrown her support behind the monument.

"I absolutely believe the Ten Commandments should be in the park. I think it's a wonderful opportunity to educate and inspire people about this 3,500-year-old code of moral behaviour," she told CTV News.

"We have the big huge statue of Moses in the park in the Leo Mol sculpture garden. So if you can have Moses in the park, why can't you have the 10 Commandments? Because that's why Moses is famous."

She believes there are lessons to be gleaned from the ancient tablets, regardless of religious background.

"When we look at our headlines and see the murders, the shoplifting, the attacks, I think we kind of need to have a reminder of the way we want to treat each other."

Visitors to Assiniboine Park had mixed reactions.

"It wouldn't be as welcoming," Gerry Loewen said of the monument. She and her husband come to the park religiously, but she said she isn't so sure the park is the place for religious items.

If the monument were to come back, Loewen said it shouldn't stand alone.

"It should also have sort of the other universal religions also included around it."

The fate of the monument now rests with city hall. A spokesperson for the city said Welcoming Winnipeg has made a recommendation which will be presented to the Executive Policy Committee in the coming months.

The conservancy was not available for an interview, but told CTV News in an email it will respect the outcome of the process and the wishes of the city and the Fraternal Order of Eagles to find a solution that respects the intent of the original donation and the current perspectives on monuments.