Should we be renaming places and things in Ottawa-Gatineau?
 

Three city councillors seek name change for Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, citing 'harmful legacy'

Megan Gillis, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jun 02, 2021 • 30 minutes ago • 1 minute read

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City councillors whose wards border the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway have asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for an Indigenous-led effort to rename the roadway along the Ottawa River.

“This is a small change that can make a big difference,” councillors Catherine McKenney, Jeff Leiper and Theresa Kavanagh wrote in a letter calling on the federal government to follow the example of Charlottetown, PEI.

City councillors there voted Monday remove a statue of Macdonald “and refuse to perpetuate the harmful legacy of Canada’s first prime minister and architect of the residential school system any longer,” the trio wrote.

The Ottawa councillors began by saying that parkway runs through their wards along the “Kìchì Sìbì” river on the territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation’s discovery of the remains of 215 children buried at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. “makes clear that there is an urgent need to recommit ourselves to the project of reconciliation as a nation,” they continue.

“We are often recalled to the ways place names in our city perpetuate Canada’s genocide against Indigenous peoples; an obvious example of this phenomenon is the name of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.”

Originally called the Ottawa River Parkway, the route was renamed in 2012 by the then-Conservative government of Stephen Harper to honour Canada’s first prime minister.

City crews in Charlottetown took down the statue of Macdonald after council’s vote to permanently remove it from a downtown intersection as a response to recent revelations about Canada’s residential school system.

Council had been planning to improve signage and add an Indigenous figure to the Macdonald statue, but decided to remove it entirely following the discovery of the mass grave last week.

-with files from The Canadian Press

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...-macdonald-parkway-citing-harmful-legacy

Very frustrating that Harper went around renaming half the town, with a quarter of it branded with John A. It wasn't enough that he and Cartier already had a bridge, the airport and a bunch of other buildings? No, we needed to give them each a Parkway and Johnny a bank building.

Harper did that after he apologized for the residential school system and after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established. WTF was he thinking?

I'd like to see the John A. Parkway renamed for his arch-nemesis Louis Riel as a royal F.U. As far as I know, Riel only has one school named after him in Ottawa.

While we're at it, the Georges-Étienne Cartier Parkway should also be renamed for an Indigenous leader, possibly one from the east. The idea of book-ending the downtown with the John A. and Cartier Parkways was to mark the partnership between the two men, Macdonald from English Canada West and Cartier from French Canada East. It would be fitting to flip that around and have an Indigenous Leader bare the name of the western parkway and an Indigenous figure along the eastern parkway.

Note that Cartier was dead by the time the residential school system was established. At this time, I don't think we're aware of what he may or may not have contributed to the Indigenous community's suffering. In any case, he has enough named after him, along with every other white politician of the era.

I would not go as far as removing Macdonald's statue from Parliament or renaming anything else, other than maybe the BMO Building Harper gave him as well (anything named recently when we should have known better). I'm pretty middle of the ground in that whole debate. Put up a plaque. List the good and the bad. Include the residential school system and Indigenous suffering in the history books. And for God sakes, build a monument to the victims of the Residential School system and colonialism. Why are we getting a monument to victims of Communism first? :facepalm:

Side note: renaming the already most popular museum in the Country, the Museum of Civilization to the much more generic History also pissed me off, but obviously we're facing a much broader issue with Macdonald.

Renaming it Kìchì Sìbì Parkway would actually make the LRT station conform to the standard of naming stations after nearby streets. :) Win win.

IMO scenic parkways and pathways should be named after natural features as much as possible.

I didn't even realize they formally changed the name of the Langevin Block in 2017 to 'Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council' until I looked it up out of curiosity just now. That's good because Langevin was a major architect of the Residential School System.

Agreed: Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway has to go as soon as possible.

I would be in agreement of renaming the the Parkway and Station Kìchì Sìbì as per the correct Algonquin spelling. At the same time, we might be labeling too many things Kìchì Sìbì, as we have way to much named for John A. Maybe rename the lookout Kìchì Sìbì but change the name of the Ward. :shrug:

[Promenade] Kìchì Sìbì Parkway simply returns it back to Ottawa River Parkway/Promenade de la Rivière-des-Outaouais but under a local indigenous name for the river.

I don't think there is such a thing as "correct Algonquin spelling", especially because the Latin alphabet is not native to the language. Two tribes will not necessarily agree to the same spelling, and between dialects b and p as well as d and t seem to be interchangeable.

As for the ward, Kitchissippi has become a place name in its own right, much like Ottawa is different from Odawa or Adàwe (or Canada from Kanata).

In general we should re-evaluate how we used Imperial Figures to name places and monuments in our country. Not saying we should re-name Victoria BC, but there are a lot of things we could do that would revive accurate historical names
For example - who the heck is Logan from Mount Logan, Canada's highest peak. The Americans did the right thing by renaming McKinley to Denali.
Likewise renaming Queen Charlotte Islands to Haida Gwaii is also a good example.
Locally we need to recognize the Algonguin past, Zibi is a good example (not to say that it doesn't have any controversy)
Speaking of Victoria, why not rename Victoria Island to its proper name Asinabka?

Statues of Historicic political figures should be banned, I cringe when I pass by Queen Elizabeth on her horse in front of Rideau Hall, that statue has got to go!!!

Just to be clear, you are talking about the Victoria Island on the Ottawa River, not the Victoria Island in the Arctic? The latter's Inuktitut name is Kitlineq.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c.../512px-Victoria_Island%2C_Canada.svg.png
Victoria Island, Canada
Baffin_Island,_Canada.svg: Connormah
derivative work: Connormah (talk | contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Yes Ottawa River Victoria but Arctic Victoria should go as well

Langevin Avenue off Beechwood will be renamed Commanda Way... after the late William Commanda from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, a respected elder and well known advocate for Indigenous rights

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/ci...-late-algonquin-leader-william-commanda/

I think that has been decided but not yet implemented.

Again though, we're renaming PoW and Langevin Avenue for him. Why do we have to rename multiple things for the same person every time? For me, PoW is best suited for Commanda. Langevin Avenue can be renamed for someone else.

Sir William Logan, founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada.

I am strongly opposed to renaming things without a really good reason. The fact that a historical figure did something that was the norm for their period in history is not a good reason. It is simply impractical to rename things every 20 years as new things become trendy or taboo. If the vegans take over in 50 years do we have to rename all the things named after meat eaters (hunting-centric indigenous cultures will be at the top of their list).

Comparing architects of opression and genocide vs. an indigenous society that was nearly wiped out to meat eaters vs. vegans.... I mean wow... just wow...

Radical idea but we could always simply stop naming things after people and stick with local/natural names for things.

Big yikes.

Langevin did not invent oppression or genocide, both were in existence long before he showed up. There was a widespread belief at the time that residential schools were a good idea. Obviously to modern eyes they are a terrible and appalling idea. But at the time they were supported by both political parties, the media, intellectuals, the medical community, etc. The last residential school closed in 1997. Should we also purge all PMs before Chrétien from history?

In that case, I think it's a suitable name.

The "norm" from whose point of view? Obviously a white male-dominated society.

Looking forward to checking out Italy once I land at Mussolini Airport. Not to worry, his views at the time were supported by most.

I tend to agree in part. We shouldn't be renaming everything that bares Macdonald's name, but we do need to revisit how we perceive him as a historical figure.

Often times, "white saviours" go around removing statues and renaming things without consulting the groups who are actually concerned. I'm thinking about Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's for example. I don't think the black community ever had a problem with those brands (note: I am not from the black community). Or Moffatt's crusade against Goulbourn. No one knew who Goulbourn was. He decided to fish the story out of the past and make a big deal out of it to change the Ward's name?

In the case of the Parkway, it was renamed for Macdonald recently when we should have known better. It's correcting a dumb mistake from only a few years ago.

This conversation should probably be moved to a more suitable thread.

Personally, I don't care if some things of little importance are renamed, but when it comes to Sir John A Macdonald, he's architected the country, for better or worse. He's done bad and good. I'd update all commemorations to include both the good and bad of his legacy before removing them (or his name completely).

But then again, although Sir John A apparently didn't care too much for Black people, we didn't experience as much devastation as a result of his policies as Indigenous people so if they want these commemorations removed I understand.

The problem is that you've given an example of companies and not public items/places like parks, statues, roads, etc. Those companies renamed themselves or altered their products because they thought it was in their best interest financially.

Would you care to provide examples of "white saviours" renaming things like parks and streets without the affected communities being included in the subsequent consultations?

I can't think of such a problematic name change off the top of my head at the moment. Not quite the same thing, but I would point to the Tewin project as an example where certain politicians made a decision under the guise of "reconciliation" without consulting all Indigenous groups, which has caused some tensions. The legitimacy of the Algonquins of Ontario has always been in Question by Algonquins on the Quebec side (I don't have enough knowledge myself to get into that subject), not to mention the City planning aspect. This was done at the same time as the proposal to rename the PoW and Langevin Avenue for William Commanda and some Algonquin leaders have pointed to this as a hypocritical move.

My opinions on the whole renaming things and removing statues has shifted over the years. Even more so with the discovery of 215 children last week. This is a conversation that needs to be had nationally and whatever the outcome maybe, not everyone will be happy about it.

Nobody consulted us when they renamed the Ottawa River Parkway for SJAM. The Harper Government, which came out of the new Reform alliance, wanted to subliminally link itself with the original Conservative Party from the founding of Canada, so they ordered the NCC to rename the parkway. The Tories have collapsed twice (1942 and 2003) and it was one of their attempts to iron out their wrinkles.

I am not saying I agree with them (I eat meat), but there are people out there who beleive that humans are just another animal, and animals' lives are no less important than peoples'. For them, slaughtering animals is no better or worse than slaughtering people. Once again, I don't beleive this, but there are people who do. My impression is that acottawa was imagining a society where this belief was normal.

Huh.

Weird how that works. Those darn "white saviours".

I won't be shedding any tears for John A. but the idea that historically the mindset that led to residential schools was some kind of exclusive white male domain is... :haha:

Wish we could just undo all of Harper's crappy re-naming of Ottawa roads and landmarks, starting with the parkway and the Museum of Civilization.

Sir John A. wrong name for parkway in 2012, even more wrong today
The renaming of the Ottawa River Parkway in 2012 took almost everyone by surprise, including the National Capital Commission.

Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jun 03, 2021 • 8 minutes ago • 3 minute read

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Three city councillors have asked the prime minister to rename the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway.

This is a good idea, though not for the reasons cited.

First of all, it should never have been done in the first place — totally out of the blue in 2012, without consultation, on a road built 70 years after Sir John A. died, to which he had zero affiliation, personal or political. More on this in a moment.

The main reason, however — and oddly enough the councillors failed to mention it — is that the SJAM parkway runs through an Indigenous heartland, one where modern-day recognition, reconciliation possibly, is trying to take root.

It is, for instance, within shouting distance of the new Pimisi Station on the LRT line, the name taken from the Algonquin word for eel. The station is probably the most striking on the system, with many examples of exquisite native art. There were, literally, hundreds of hours of effort that went into doing this venture respectfully.

Even closer to the parkway itself is Pindigen Park, done in collaboration with the local Anishinabe communities of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan.

“The park highlights Indigenous culture and heritage, and its name evokes the spirit of inclusivity and harmony among people. ‘Pindigen’ is more than a name, it is an invitation. It means: ‘Come on in! All are welcome here!'” reads the NCC website.

“The site was designed as a romantic gardenesque-style public green space, with bold and dynamic land forms, symbolizing movement through the landscape.”

And steps away from the road named for a Father of Confederation now viewed as a central player in a plan to erase a culture, by forcibly removing children from their homes, with disastrous results.

(That 215 children can still bear witness — crushingly, in death — to the era’s folly seems to end any conversation about the “appropriate” way to “honour” old politicians, the policy’s authors.)

There will certainly be more Indigenous involvement in the development of LeBreton Flats, just as there has been with the private-sector Zibi development. Neither should we forget what may eventually unfold on Victoria Island or the foundational importance of the Chaudière Falls to native spirituality.

At the western end of the parkway, near Lincoln Fields, the parkway ends less than 500 metres from Larga Baffin, the medical boarding home for people of Nunavut travelling south for treatment.

While we can quibble about “on or not on” the parkway, the point is made: The SJAM is in the travelling orbit of many native-focused sites, and, if the name offends this stakeholder population — and we know it does — then we should remove it.

But to return to the beginning.

The renaming of the Ottawa River Parkway in 2012 took almost everyone by surprise, including the National Capital Commission, which made clear in later-released correspondence that the decision was forced upon the Crown corporation.

Though historian Bob Plamondon pushed the idea, it was local Conservative cabinet minister John Baird who made it happen and seemed most tickled by it.

“I think every Canadian of every political stripe should be very pleased with this announcement,” he said of the unveiling. Well, out of the mouths of Bairds.

(It was perhaps forever thus, but the Harper government did its bit for the politicization of history with new names here and there, Bro-Cons in town with a fresh box of crayons.)

Documents obtained by the Citizen after the news indicated the NCC was leery of the renaming because it had no real internal policy, Sir John was controversial and there had been no consultation with the public.

The memos did not mention what everyone in town knew: There was already a bridge, an airport and a building named for Macdonald. Now a parkway created in the 1950 Gréber plan for a man who died before Ottawa has its first car?

It was telling, and a little hilarious, that the NCC received a call the day after from the RCMP (the patrolling police force) saying it didn’t know about the change, one that obviously affected things like 911 calls, or any call for service for that matter.

The three councillors (including Jeff Leiper from Kitchissippi ward) suggest the federal government begin an Indigenous-led consultation process on the renaming.

That might work, but I wouldn’t blame our First Nation friends if they just washed their hands of it.

What, after all, was wrong with Ottawa River Parkway?

To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-291-6265 or email [email protected]
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...or-parkway-in-2012-even-more-wrong-today

Here's what's named after Sir John A. Macdonald in Ottawa
Parks, roads, buildings all bear surname of Canada's 1st prime minister

Trevor Pritchard · CBC News
Posted: Jun 03, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: June 3

The imprint of Canada's first prime minister on the geography of the nation's capital is hard to miss.

Roads, parks and buildings all bear the name of Sir John A. Macdonald, a Father of Confederation whose government enforced policies that starved Indigenous people to force them from their land and centralized and expanded the residential school system.

Now, with the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., the question of what to do with landmarks named after Macdonald has once again come up.

Here's a collection of some of the more prominent places in Ottawa named after Macdonald.

What's named after Sir John A. Macdonald?

Here are some of Ottawa's streets, parks and buildings named after Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister and a Father of Confederation — and an enforcer of policies that starved Indigenous people to force them from their land and expanded the residential school system.
https://i.imgur.com/coNmlEI.png

Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway

On Wednesday, the three Ottawa city councillors whose wards include the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, or "SJAM" as locals refer to it, called for it to be renamed.

Theresa Kavanagh, Jeff Leiper and Catherine McKenney are urging the federal government to launch an Indigenous-led process that would see the road, which stretches west along the Ottawa River from downtown and is overseen by the National Capital Commission, renamed as soon as possible.

It was known as the Ottawa River Parkway until 2012.

Macdonald-Cartier Bridge

Built between 1964 and 1966, the major commuter bridge spans the Ottawa River, connecting King Edward Avenue in Ottawa with Highway 5 in Gatineau, Que.

It's named after both Macdonald and his fellow Father of Confederation Sir George-Étienne Cartier, and is owned and maintained by Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport

The federal government renamed the city's airport after Macdonald and Cartier in 1993.

These days, the airport is more commonly branded as the Ottawa International Airport, with few references to its official name on its website or social media channels.

However, the Macdonald-Cartier name can still be found on signs around the airport.

Sir John A. Macdonald Building

Originally built in the early 1930s for the Bank of Montreal, the Wellington Street heritage building now serves as a permanent space for large parliamentary meetings and functions.

It was renamed after Macdonald in 2012.

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

The self-described "rigourously non-partisan" think tank takes its name from Macdonald, a Tory, and Wilfrid Laurier, a Liberal who was prime minister from 1896 until 1911.

They "were two outstanding and long-serving former prime ministers who represent the best of Canada's distinguished political tradition," the think tank says on its website.

Macdonald Gardens

The picturesque swath of green space just off Rideau Street in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood was designated a heritage park in 2017.

It was built on a former cemetery and designed in 1914 by Frederick G. Todd, whom the Canadian Encyclopedia calls "the first truly resident landscape architect in Canada."

Macdonald-Cartier Academy

A private French-immersion junior high school in New Edinburgh, the Macdonald-Cartier Academy was founded in 1990 and bills itself as "one of the top-rated private schools in Ottawa."

The Sir John A

A pub on Elgin Street that boasts about having "the largest selection of draft beers in Centretown."

MacDonald Street

While the five-block street in the Golden Triangle could be named after Canada's first prime minister, its origins are unclear.

It's possible the street was named after Macdonald, and its capital "D" is a typographical error — at least that's according to a city archivist who spoke to Centretown News in 2010.

But ultimately, the street's namesake is likely lost to history.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/map-john-a-macdonald-names-ottawa-1.6050525

I’ve never seen anything to suggest it was even a major element of SJAM’s mindset - I would have thought it rather peripheral to the broad sweep of his public life, but maybe I’m mistaken.

Bring back Griffin's!! :cheers::cheers:

I wonder if this was a widespread belief at the time among indigenous people.

Agreed. But look at what I was responding. A discussion of the "norm" at the time, and a strong insinuation that the thinking that led to the residential school system was somehow unique to white (European origin) males.

What happened in Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Hokkaido, Mongolia and the Ottoman Empire during that time? Do people actually know?

My comment was simply to say that residential schools weren’t created from an indigenous point of view, but from a belief that European culture was superior. It was also a time when women had no voice in government, and non-white people were considered lesser beings. These terrible policies were formulated by a white male-dominated colonial society that had little regard for what they considered savages. To excuse this as acceptable during their time is seeing it only from one perspective.

I accept John A. Macdonald as our first Prime Minister, I don’t believe that his old statues should be removed. But to continually glorify him well past his time is ridiculous. “But he did great things” might be good enough to plaster over the fact he drank too much, but does not excuse the pain and suffering that the residential schools have brought

Like others, I think re-naming the parkway for Macdonald was a dumb idea in the first place. It was done recently and without consultation so it shouldn't be a big deal to change it to something more appropriate.

On statues, I think my position is that rather than try to erase or forget the history, the statues of figures like Macdonald should be accompanied by plaques that detail the full story. We need to acknowledge the skeletons in our national closet.

No they weren’t. In the last election before Mussolini marched on Rome, the fascists received 0.4% of the vote, and most fascist policies were reversed when he was out of power.

In contrast residential schools were continued by Liberal and Tory governments for over a century after Macdonald died.

Yes, that is who the politicians, professors, medical experts, journalists, etc. were at the time. That was the case until at least the late 20th century (and maybe is still mostly the case). Do we purge all history before then?

Also, the first major residential school in what is now Canada was the Mohawk Institute, founded in 1831. When Macdonald was 16.

There's a big difference between the existence of residential schools and the policy of systemically and forcibly removing children from their families against their will for the purpose of assimilating them and killing their culture. Plus it wasn't just the residential schools, SJAM also was responsible for other policies such as the banning of traditional ceremonies like the potlatch. At any rate, it is not up to you to determine what/who is or isn't offensive to the indigenous people.

The decision to rename the parkway was clearly done unilaterally without consultation by the Harper Government. To me personally, changing it washes away some of my distaste for his legacy.

Of course. I can definitely see all of that.

I just react to insinuations that feelings of ethno-racial superiority and ensuing atrocities were and are the exclusive domain of European-descended men. Or that "sure, other groups did it - but white males were always worse".

I honestly have no idea who was "worse", if it's even possible to have a scoresheet for something like that.

What I do know is that every human group was and is prone to this type of behaviour, including Indigenous peoples of the Americas, under a "perfect storm" scenario of course.

I think you have blown my original comment way out of context, which was that of SJAM's Canada circa late 1800s. If you were a white male at that time, the "norms" surrounding his policies were perfectly fine. if you were indigenous, or Chinese brought to build his railway (aka "The Canadian Dream"), not so much. If you were a woman, you had no say.

Having said that, I do think the average Euro-descendant person today is oblivious to how much their predecessors have defined the world, and how colonialism has left deeply ingrained racial insecurities throughout the world.

Sure, during Macdonald's time, in Canada, white males (really, it was those of British origin) had the power.

In other parts of the world at that same time, the in-group of those Chinese labourers would have been on top of the heap. And acted much the same way. Or worse.

Every human society in history has engaged in conflict and warfare at some point. But we live in Canada, and have the ability to rectify the sins of our forebears'.

Now renaming a parkway or taking down a statue will not do that - but I think it would be cool to honour all the founding people by having more indigenous place-names and monuments.

As someone whose ancestors left Europe four centuries ago, eked out an existence in a new land, suffered colonial domination, deportation and even attempted ethnic cleansing themselves, and personally had no involvement (personally or even collectively) in the most impactful of the former mother country's global imperial activities that rolled out in the centuries following, the idea that my predecessors were somehow influential "shapers" of the contemporary world doesn't resonate much with me.

No fundamental disagreement from me on this.

This has no bearing on the discussion. We're discussing issues in Canada at the time and whatabouting to other regions to distract doesn't change the situation on the ground in Canada at the time.

Most people call it the Ottawa River Parkway already, don't they?

Fine. Trust me, I have no illusions about who had all of the power in the context of late 20th century Canada.