Today@Dal

Parks Canada is dismantling a stone cairn located on the Studley Quad beginning September 13, 2023. The stones are crumbling and the cairn is in danger of becoming a safety hazard. A plaque on the cairn reads:

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada

Halifax and Castine

In September 1814, a British military and naval expedition from Halifax, under Lt General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke and Rear Admiral Edward Griffith, occupied the portion of Maine between the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers. Major General Gerard Gosselin governed that district, from Castine, until 26^th April 1815. The customs duties collected during this period were utilized by Governor Dalhousie for the endowment of the Garrison Library and Dalhousie college. AD 1938.

The plaque is owned by Parks Canada and will be taken into possession for a review of the existing language as part of the Framework for History and Commemoration (2019). This is Parks Canada's approach for reviewing more than 2200 existing national historic designations and provides a basis to address concerns about plaque texts. Some designations and their commemorative plaques include dated or insensitive content that does not reflect what is known or important to say about the country's history today. This review will take up to 18 months.