Commentary
Winnipeg is close to saying goodbye to Bishop Grandin. Soon, the streets, and anything else that bears his name, will be erased from Manitoba’s history.
Before that step is taken in historical revisionism, city councillors might at least pay respects to the man who was once considered to be a founding father of this Keystone Province.
Who was Bishop Grandin?
Vital-Justin Grandin was a Roman Catholic priest who played a major role in the transformation of what was largely a thinly populated wilderness into the vibrant province that we inhabit today.
He was an unlikely hero. Poor health and a speech impediment hindered his career, and he ended up in our cold northwest, where he developed an immediate and long-lasting affinity for indigenous people. In fact he adopted two indigenous orphans, and during that time he formulated the idea that motivated him for the rest of his life. Simply put, he saw no reason why priests had to be white men. He enthusiastically promoted education, in large part so that indigenous men could become priests and societal leaders….