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. The decision to rename the area as The Gardens follows the trend of our current society trying to make amends and erase the memory of what happened.
Present-day society, in the last few years, has taken it upon itself to apologize for what we now recognize as the wrongdoing and mistreatment of our Indigenous First Nations people. It is a necessary but long-overdue apology.
But is trying to erase history by renaming really the best choice? It brings to mind the often-quoted Edmund Burke saying that "those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." This runs contrary to what Coun. Mike Killick is quoted as saying ' It's not about erasing a name. It's erasing a reminder of what happened at residential schools."
It seems to me, along with a lot of other St. Albertans, that we should not be trying to erase and forget about the treatment of our First Nations people in the residential school system in the past. Rather than trying to remove that part of the history of our country, we instead should be teaching what and why the system was initiated and why it was wrong.
It seems from what the council is saying that the cost of the name change to the city is minor and inconsequential in their estimation. The time and cost to Grandin residents is a topic on Facebook and St. Albert chat. Some are suggesting that the city reimburse Grandin residents for their cost and time spent changing all of the necessary documents. It would be a miracle, but I sincerely doubt that it will ever happen.
The question still remains of why this council chose not to, as originally planned, have a plebiscite about the Grandin name question.
Just to clarify, I am a homeowner in Akinsdale and not in Grandin but I am a property tax payer in St Albert. So every nickel and dime that council can save is of importance to me. And there is a municipal election this fall.
Rob Pritchard, St. Albert
