RM of Gimli planning on renaming roads names with colonial ties
In a first of its kind for the municipality, the RM of Gimli is forming a committee whose sole purpose is for reconciliation.
Its first task is to recommend name changes for four local roads, all of which have ties to colonialism; Colonization Road Arnes, North Colonization Road, South Colonization Road, and Colonization Close.
The roads in question were at one time a single route, but as communities expanded and the land use changed the road was broken up into sections.
“That word colonization is just a memory of the genocide that was taken place against the Indigenous people of Canada by all these settlers,” said area councillor Cody Magnusson. “It’s a word that for so many people, not only Indigenous people, but anyone that understands that history can and should find deeply offensive for what it represented in our history.
Last week, RM of Gimli Council approved a motion put forth by Magnusson to form the reconciliation committee. It followed a petition started by a local businessman, signed by about 1,000, people asking for the names to be changed.
Mayor Lynn Greenburg said the issue has been raised before, but in light of the recent discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children near a Kamloops residential school, the issue gained traction. He said council is in favour of changing the road names, but is waiting on the committee’s recommendations.
“Some people say don’t touch anything, just leave it the way it is, there’s nothing wrong with it, others say it should be changed,” said Greenburg.
The committee has yet to form, but Magnusson was surprised by how many people have volunteered to take part.
“My goal for the committee is to have a balanced mixture of representatives from the Indigenous community, both locally and maybe some organizations from the surrounding area, as well as non-Indigenous members from the community,” said Magnusson.
The roads will be renamed in the spirit of reconciliation, according to Magnusson, and in keeping with local Indigenous history.
The RM of St. Clements is in the middle of a similar process, and will help serve as a guide for the new committee.
Once the name recommendations have been finalized, the committee will move on explore any other opportunities in the spirit of the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.