Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway to be changed to Indigenous name

The board of the National Capital Commission has voted to move ahead in the renaming of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway with an Indigenous name.

After the 2021 discovery of unmarked graves at a former residential school in British Columbia, three Ottawa city councillorscalled on the commission to change the name.

During his reign as Canada's first prime minister, Macdonald'sgovernment enforced policies thatstarvedIndigenous peopleto force them from their land, and outlawedtheirceremonies. It alsocentralized and expanded aresidential school systemthat took generations of children from their families and triedto wipe out their cultures. That legacy was detailed duringthe Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

A name change was alsorequested by Chief Dylan Whiteduck of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation and the band council of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation in 2021, while hundreds protestedon the parkway the following year.

The move to rename the roadway received unanimous support from the NCCboard Thursday, including aboard member fromAlgonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council

"That's a very important area for the Algonquin people. The river that'sthere, the Ottawa River, and the other waterways nearby,that was our highways one of the main ways we'd get together to gather and trade," said Norm Odjick during the meeting.

"Soit's got a very significant cultural significance."

Name to be voted on in June

Anadvisory committee was struck last Augustto review the name of the parkway, and it's met twice to craft recommendations that were presented Thursday.

The board agreed the naming will happen in consultation with the Algonquin Nation in what is calledan Indigenous naming and engagement exercise. That will involve workingwith elders and other members of the community on the name, beginning this winter.

Further workshops and public engagementactivities will begin in the spring, with opportunities to exchange information and stories about the historic area.

"The importance of that process is really to understand the meaning of what that name will be, because the significance attached to a name is really important to understand," said the NCC's Vronique de Passill.

"We want to be able to integrate what we learned from that engagement in future interpretation strategies that would take place in the park that has been created along the parkway."

The proposed name will be presented and voted on by the board in June, and an unveiling ceremony is planned for Sept. 30 to coincidewith the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Marchers push for name change to Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway

2 years ago

Duration 0:36

Albert Dumont, from Kitigan Zibi Anishinbeg, says the march was meant to honour the children forced to attend residential schools and to campaign for the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway to be renamed.