Ottawa's new street and park naming, renaming policy nears approval

The city is one step away from a new policy for naming and renaming buildings, parks and streets as it aims to commemorate a more diverse range of Ottawans without having to meet targets or quotas.

Dan Chenier, the city's general manager of recreation, cultural and facilities services, said a new task force would select applications from the public that “represent the community in a more balanced way.”

Council's community services committee approved the policy on Wednesday and it will go to the full council for final approval next month.

Coun Rideau-Rockcliffe. Rawlson King called it “a way to address historical inequalities.”

If passed, the new policy would put more emphasis on recognizing local Ottawans, while prioritizing inclusion and “equal representation of communities and cultures” along with consultation with indigenous groups.

“To ensure future equity and inclusion, the policy states that names taken from the Anishinabe Algonquin Host Nation and those names representing groups denied equity will be prioritized for consideration,” according to a staff report on the policy.

Those groups include women and newcomers, as well as racialized, francophone and LGBTQ people, it said.

Chenier said the task force will review the applications to make sure they don't honor people who could bring shame to the city.

“What we want to avoid is a situation where the reputation of the city or the reputation of a facility is damaged by an association that does not reflect the values ​​of the city,” he said.

The policy explicitly excludes names that are “discriminatory or disparaging of race, color, ethnic origin, gender identity or expression, sex, sexual orientation, creed, political affiliation, disability or other social factors.”

Renaming 'not the only solution' for controversial names

Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster asked if residents could use the policy to object to an existing name.

Chenier explained that they can propose renaming it to something else through essentially the same process. He said the task force would evaluate the merits of such an application by looking at the “facts of the situation” to make “evidence-based decisions” based on historical research.

“We will ask the applicant to outline what their concern is and then we will do research and debate what our findings are,” he said.

Chenier said he is aware that numbers related to residential schools or slavery are likely to come forward. He said he still cannot predict exactly what the outcome will be in such cases.

“We don't have the experience yet to see, because renaming is not the only solution,” he said. “Explanation, setting context are also other options that our committee might recommend. So it's too early to tell.”

Troster asked why the city doesn't proactively search for offensive or outdated names across Ottawa.

“We've seen a wave of protests evolve across the country and internationally, taking down monuments, changing names,” she said. “There were extraordinary actions to rename what is now Kichi Zb Mkan.”

Chenier said the policy does not go that far and will instead rely on applications from the community.

The group seeks targets for gender equality

Delegates from a group called Women of Distinction of Ottawa told councilors the policy doesn't go far enough on another point, as it doesn't include targets to correct the current imbalance in designation.

“We believe the policy requires even more engagement,” said Lee Farnworth. “We believe it should include targets. Fifty percent of women should equal 50 percent of all commemorations.”

Farnworth said less than 10 percent of all city facilities, parks and streets are named after women, though Chenier said the number is actually about 22 percent.

According to Farnworth, Ottawa Distinguished Women has a list of women of merit long enough to help the city meet a 50 per cent target.

Bay ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh asked Chenier to ensure that the membership of the task force, at least, has parity between men and women.

The task force would not have the final say on the renaming. For small assets, such as baseball diamonds or an outdoor ice rink, Chenier would have a key role and also seek approval from the local council and community associations.

For major assets, such as large parks, theaters and indoor swimming pools, the council would have the final say.