Returning Ten Commandments to park ‘an odyssey’, Asper says

Gail Asper says getting the Ten Commandment monument back into Assiniboine Park was “an odyssey.”

“It amazes me about all the steps that needed to be taken to get to this place,” she said.

“It was ridiculous at times.”

Ed Hume, who worked with Asper to get the monument back into the park, agreed.

“I’m glad it’s back,” he said. “But getting it back was a real saga.”

Asper, a community leader and philanthropist, and Hume, a member of Calvary Temple, shared about that journey at the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre on Thursday.

The two said it took multiple meetings, phone calls, emails, and a petition with more than 1,500 signatures to convince city hall and the Assiniboine Park Conservancy to replace the monument after it was removed and put into storage in 2017 to make way for construction of the Leaf.

“I’ve got two binders full of correspondence and documents,” Hume told the 30 or so people gathered for the forum.

The monument was reinstalled in the park in July after Assiniboine Park asked the city to review its future in 2022 under the Welcoming Winnipeg policy. The policy helps guide the removal or renaming of historical markers with the goal of reconciliation.

City council’s executive policy committee voted last September to return the monument to a public space.

It had been in Assiniboine Park since 1965, when it was gifted to the city by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It now sits near some trees in the Grove, a garden area located southeast of the Leaf.

While happy to see the monument back in the park in a quiet and contemplative area, Asper and Hume said they wish it was easier to find — there is no footpath leading to it.

“It’s like, “Where’s Waldo,” Hume said.

In addition to making the monument easier to find, Asper and Hume are suggesting a QR code be placed at the location so that people can read the Ten Commandments in different languages on their phones.

They would also like to see the removal of some non-native buckthorn bushes that make it difficult to walk around the monument.

The two also spoke appreciatively about the partnership between the Jewish and Christian communities that developed during the effort to return the monument to the park, and said they look forward to being able to take their grandchildren to see it and to talk about the universal morals and values it promotes.

“It’s important that we pass faith on to our children and grandchildren,” Hume said

Asper agreed.

“It’s mission accomplished,” she said, calling it a “testament to Jewish faith and values.”

“But its precepts are valuable for everyone,” she said.

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