Saskatoon’s John A. Macdonald Road one step closer to new name

Saskatoon city council moved forward on the John A. Macdonald Road name change after Wednesday’s council meeting.

The new proposed name is Miyo-wâhkôhtowin Road ( pronounced mee-yo wah-KOH’-toh-win) after some consultation with First Nations groups.

Coun. Troy Davies noted this name change had no additional cost to taxpayers.

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He said one of the agreements that they came to in this process of developing this name was that a name change was needed.

Davies said it was unanimously approved by the planning, development and community services committee to forward this name change to council.

Leslie Anderson, director of planning and development with the city, spoke about the different organizations and community groups they discussed the name change with, saying the name John A. McDonald was harmful to some of the people who lived on that very street or attended the nearby school.

She said the name means and represents good relationships.

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“The name reflects the theme of reconciliation. Residential schools contributed to a breakdown of communities and relationships and division,” Anderson said.

She clarified that today’s decision wasn’t a decision to apply the name to the road, just to approve the name to change, adding that there’s another step to make the bylaw to make the name change.

Five residents at the meeting asked to speak regarding the name change.

Marjaleena Repo took issue with several aspects of the new name, saying it was difficult to say and spell.

“For most of the Saskatoon residents it is a foreign language that may as well be Chinese or Greek,” Repo said.

Tyrell Harder called the name change essential, saying it will allow us to learn from the past and move forward.

Mary Fedun said there was an almost total lack of engagement with the community and was against the name change.

“If you change a name you are disrupting the community and our sense of community,” Fedun said.

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She said she would like to see this paused for some more public engagement.

Carrie Horachek was supportive of the renaming, saying it is an important step in building a more inclusive, equitable and diverse community.

She said Canadians are at different stages of understanding when it comes to the more shameful parts of Canadian history.

“Miyo-wâhkôhtowin isn’t just a word, it’s a teaching about how we are all related, and what it means to live in good relation to each other and all things,” Horachek said.

Susan Gingell also supported the name change, saying the name miyo-wâhkôhtowin was an invitation.

“I believe that the name miyo-wâhkôhtowin is an invitation to all of us to come into good relationship, healthy relationship, positive relationship,” Gingell said.

The motions faced no opposition from council members and were passed, with the name change moving to the next step towards completion, with a bylaw to make the name change coming later this year.