Letter to the Editor

Talofa lava, my name is Tafeu Falefitu Ausanetaliitama and I go by Fitu. I am a Matai (Chief) of Falelatai on the island Upolu, Samoa. I came to Canada in 2009, by way of human labour trafficking.

Well, the train has left the tracks again at our wonderful Public Library. I’m referring, of course, to the latest decision by Peter Bailey and the Library Board to forgo overdue fines on Children’s and Youth materials.

Over the past weeks and months, I have seen a lot of commentary about the renaming of the Grandin (now The Gardens) neighbourhood. Lots of my fellow neighbours have expressed sadness and frustration over the change.

Is it because some people in the neighbourhood feel the name is so ingrained in their identity? I ask these people, how many of you actually knew who Grandin was? If you didn’t care before, you shouldn’t care now.

I am amazed at people bemoaning the loss of the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) immediately following the elimination of Bishop Grandin In my view, the impact of the HBC on the indigenous peoples of our region was significantly greater than that of Bishop G

In light of the recent article featuring Coun. Shelley Biermanski, it’s clear that if the council acknowledges the renaming process as flawed, and administration acted poorly. We need to redo it to make it right for the residents of Grandin.

At the March 18 St Albert council meeting it came as no surprise that the renaming of the Grandin neighbourhood was passed by a majority vote of 5 to 2.