The Grandin neighbourhood will be officially be renamed The Gardens after an hours-long public hearing and debate held in City council chambers Tuesday (March 18).
Councillors listened to dozens of speakers as they weighed whether to change the name of the neighbourhood and other Grandin-named municipal assets and in the end voted 5-2 to remove the name Grandin, and then 6-1 to change the name to The Gardens effective Sept. 1.
Coun. Sheena Hughes and Coun. Shelley Biermanski voted in opposition to the motion to remove the name Grandin, while Hughes voted against both the removal of Grandin and the renaming to The Gardens.
The City of St. Albert's Naming Committee recommended council remove the Grandin name from municipal assets due to his role establishing residential schools.
"The Grandin name should be removed as it evokes continued recognition of a residential school system that caused great harm and intergenerational pain and trauma to Indigenous, Metis and Inuit people. Bishop Grandin is regarded as one of the primary individuals responsible for the establishment of the Indian Residential School system in Canada, an institutional regime that has been recognized by the Catholic Church and recently Pope Francis as an act of cultural genocide against indigenous people," Suzanne Ruegg, planning and naming committee clerk, wrote in her report to council recommending the renaming.
"The name Grandin has become inextricably connected to the residential school system. Regardless of the original intentions, these institutions, and their legacies, have had a negative inter-generational impact on Indigenous Peoples," Ruegg wrote, explaining why the application met the criteria for the city's Municipal Naming Policy and Name Removal Criteria.
A report entitled "Renaming Grandin Community What We Heard Report Public Engagement Insights on Potential Name Changes and Community Perspectives" reveals more information about what the city heard during their public engagement sessions.
The Naming Committee received 335 responses and reviewed 94 individual names. Of the 335 responses the city received, 149 of those were from Grandin residents, and 153 were from other St. Albert residents.This amounted to 97 per cent of total respondents.
Of the names reviewed, The Gardens/Garden was suggested most frequently, with 28 suggestions. Including Gardenia added another five. Grand received the second most suggestions with 11. Other common suggestions included Grosvenor (10), Ghostkeeper (7), and Goldenrod (6).
MORE TO COME
