Nora Bernard, a prominent Mi’kmaw activist and residential school survivor, could soon have a north end street named in her honour.
Her name is being recommended in a staff report to Halifax Regional Council on Tuesday to replace the existing Cornwallis Street. The move follows a public consultation process that included an online survey.
Bernard’s daughter, Natalie Gloade, said she was both overwhelmed and honoured to hear her mother had been chosen.
“It’s about time that they recognize not only our matriarch, but she’s our hero, she’s our trailblazer,” said Gloade.
Bernard was from Millbrook First Nation and was forced to attend the Shubenacadie Residential School as a child. Later in life, she fought for compensation for residential school survivors and filed a class action suit.
The suit prompted similar lawsuits across Canada, which were amalgamated and settled in 2005 for more than $5 billion.
In 2008, she was posthumously awarded the Order of Nova Scotia. In her recipient’s biography, the province noted how Bernard’s actions inspired the largest class action lawsuit in Canadian history that represented 79,000 survivors.
The renaming project is among the recommendations of the Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous History.
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Cornwallis was governor of Nova Scotia in 1749 when he issued a bounty for the scalps of the Mi’kmaq, prompting calls — centuries later — for his name to be removed from schools, rivers, streets, parks and monuments.
Gloade said the fact that her mother would be replacing Cornwallis’ name specifically is important.
“What an honour to have her name placed in Halifax city and especially to replace a man that tried — I’ll be very blunt — to kill our people,” she said.
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Gloade said her mother’s mission was to help other residential school survivors, like herself, receive justice and tell the truth about what happened to them.
“My mother fought very hard since we were young girls. We were little children when we started hearing about the residential school and the atrocities that happened there, and her fight for her survivors,” said Gloade.
“I can honestly say she put her heart, her soul and her spirit into that fight. And she won.”
Bernard died in December 2007. Her grandson, who is Gloade’s son, James Douglas Gloade, was charged in her murder and sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter.
Gloade said she holds a walk in her mother’s memory each year in December to honour her and all missing and murdered Indigenous women, children and men.
“It’s a part of healing and I believe I’ll be healing for the rest of my life on Mother Earth,” she said.
“I have to keep her legacy alive and this is part of her legacy.”
Shortlist of names
In July of this year, a shortlist of 15 names was unveiled for the renaming of Cornwallis Street in Halifax.
The municipality opened up a survey online and received 8,733 submissions.
Halifax Regional Council will vote on the name Tuesday. Alternatively, councillors can choose to use one of the other top choices: Nitap Street, Dr. Alfred Waddell Street or Rocky Jones Street.
According to the staff report, the results were:
The staff report stated the cost of renaming the street includes replacing 11 standard side blade signs at $30 each, and one oversized traffic arm sign at $75.
As well, residents and businesses on the street will receive 12 months of free mail redirection services from Canada Post.
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