Assiniboine Park wants the city to find a new home for the 10 Commandments Monument

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy is asking the city to find a new site for a religious monument featuring the Ten Commandments, fearing it would make the park less attractive.

The monument was donated 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 construction of The Leaf. According to the Conservancy, there was uncertainty about what would happen to the monument, so it was placed in storage where it has stood ever since.

While the conservatory emphasizes that the monument, which is inscribed with biblical principles central to Judaism and Christianity, is part of Winnipeg’s history, it questions whether the park is the best location for the monument.

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

Welcome Winnipeg makes recommendations to the city for changes to historical markers and place names to ensure that Indigenous perspectives are included.

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

Gail Asper, Winnipeg philanthropist and chair of The Asper Foundation, supports the monument.

“I absolutely believe the 10 Commandments belong in the park. I think it’s a great opportunity to educate and inspire people about this 3,500-year-old code of conduct,” 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 what Moses is famous for.”

She believes that there are lessons to be learned from the ancient tablets, regardless of one’s religious background.

“When we look at the headlines and see the murders, the shoplifting and the attacks, I think we need to be reminded of how to treat each other.”

Visitors to Assiniboine Park had mixed reactions.

“It wouldn’t be very welcoming,” Gerry Loewen said of the monument. She and her husband come to the park religiously, but she said she’s not so sure the park is the place for religious objects.

If the monument were to return, Loewen said it should not stand alone.

“It should also include the other universal religions.”

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

The conservatory was not available for an interview but told CTV News in an email that 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 takes into account the intent of the original donation and current monument views.