A bronze statue of a key Acadian figure in New Brunswick erected more than a century ago has been placed back on its base, after vandals apparently pushed it off last month.
The Village of Memramcook said in a statement in August that it was “horrified” to see the statue of Père Camille Lefebrve, which stands in the centre of the village, on the ground.
“The people of Memramcook are very attached to Père Lefebvre,” Mayor Maxime O. Bourgeois said in a social media post.
“His statue is an important heritage symbol for us and l’Acadie would not be as we known it without his dedication to French-language education in the 1860s. We hope that light will be shed on this incident, which deeply upsets us.”
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RCMP said it’s believed someone or a group of people pushed the monument between 7:35 p.m. on Aug. 25 and 8:10 a.m. on Aug. 26.
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In an update on Sept. 1, Sackville RCMP said they were looking for information on a white 2019-2020 Dodge Ram as part of the investigation.
On Tuesday, the village said the statue has been restored, with the help of J.L. Breau Crane Rentals Ltd, BSM Services (1998) Ltd, and Maritime Hydraulics.
“Père Lefebvre is back! Just in time for the start of the school year,” the village posted on Facebook.
“We thank all those who took care of the restoration of the statue of this great believer of higher education in Acadie.”
The statue of Lefebvre was erected in 1914. According to the village, Lefebvre was a key figure in French-language education in Acadie and the founder of the Collège Saint-Joseph.
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The RCMP investigation into the incident is ongoing.