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One of St. Albert's oldest and largest neighbourhoods is getting a new name. The south-side neighbourhood of Grandin is being renamed The Gardens.
It's the latest city to remove the name of Vital Grandin, the first Roman Catholic bishop in St. Albert and a proponent and architect of Canada's residential school system. At an hours-long meeting Tuesday, city council heard multiple people speak for and against the move before voting 5-2 to change the name.
A second motion passed 6-1 approving the new name, The Gardens. "I think if I had been asked on a plebiscite 15 years ago to rename Grandin, I probably would have said 'don't do it'. But I know better now, and I want to do better," St.
Albert Mayor Cathy Heron told the packed council chambers, before tearing up. "I'm going to cast my vote today not in judgment of Bishop Grandin, but in the acknowledgement of the resulting harm. The decision that I'm going to make today is not about cancelling culture.
It's about not celebrating the name Grandin and acknowledging and finding a deeper understanding." It's not the first time the Grandin namesake has been removed. In recent years, an Edmonton school, an LRT station, several streets in Winnipeg and a Calgary school have all been renamed.
Calgary Catholic trustees vote unanimously to rename Bishop Grandin High School Former Grandin School in Edmonton renamed Holy Child Catholic Elementary School But in St. Albert, Grandin is also prevalent among the names of many businesses. "We've got a long road ahead of us if we continue to judge every single person that has something named after them in St.
Albert," said Coun. Shelley Biermanski, one of two dissenters. "We're all responsible to look forward to a peaceful existence.
Reconciliation is a worthy goal, which in my opinion won't be achieved by rewriting history." The Grandin namesake dons many buildings in St. Albert where the Roman Catholic Bishop Vital Grandin lived.
(Charles Delisle/Radio-Canada) Earlier in the evening, many long-time residents spoke of their love for Grandin, one of its oldest neighbourhoods in St. Albert. Amanda Patrick spoke fondly of the tree-lined streets and friendly neighbours in the community, where she's raising her sons and her mom and brother live a few blocks away.
"The Grandin name does not align with the beauty of this community," Patrick said. "I believe deeply that when you know better, you do better. Changing the ground and name is not about erasing history or people.
" Mary O'Neill, a former Alberta MLA, argued that St. Albert should instead take other steps to advance reconciliation. Radio Active 7:45 St.
Albert changes name of Grandin neighbourhood St. Albert's Grandin neighbourhood will be renamed The Gardens. City council voted in favour of the change Tuesday after a months-long public debate.
The city's naming committee recommended removing the Grandin name from municipal assets due to Bishop Vital Grandin's role in establishing the residential school system in Canada. Cathy Heron is St. Albert's mayor.
She said the city should issue an official apology for the hurt that was inflicted in the past "under other, albeit unelected leaders like Bishop Grandin." "We won't advance as a community if we ignore, bury, even judge the past from the perspective of the present," O'Neill said. "We cannot deny history, but as the saying goes, we can learn from it.
And we can do better." The neighbourhood will officially take on its new name The Gardens in September. In an interview with Radio-Canada Wednesday, Heron described the process.
Indigenous leaders laud renaming of Bishop Grandin Boulevard to Abinojii Mikanah at official ceremony She said three streets with the Grandin name will be changed while the city will take care of changes to documents such as land titles. Canada Post is ready to forward mail to the new addresses for a year. Any costs to those residents like having licences reissued, will be covered by the city, Heron added.
"I'm hoping people will see that as a really nice name, a positive name. It's very reflective of who we are as a community," Heron said reflecting on the new name, The Gardens. "After the meeting yesterday, with a good representation from both sides of the debate, I'm really hoping this community can embrace the change and move forward and start healing.
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