The Grandin neighbourhood will be officially renamed to The Gardens following a city council vote on Tuesday (March 18).
The vote to remove the Grandin name from all municipal assets passed in a 5-2 vote, with councillors Sheena Hughes and Shelley Biermanski opposed. The vote to change the name to The Gardens was a separate motion. That passed 6-1, with only Hughes voting in opposition. The new name will be effective Sept. 1, 2025.
Coun. Mike Killick said the name change acknowledges the negative impact residential schools had on the Indigenous community.
"It's not about erasing a name," said Killick. It's erasing a reminder of what happened at residential schools."
RELATED LINK: More than a dozen speak about what the name Grandin means to them
The city received more than 300 responses during their public engagement process and reviewed 94 individual names. The Gardens led the suggestions with 28 total submissions.
Outrage over the use of Bishop Vital Justin Grandin’s name increased after the reported discovery of the suspected remains of 215 children on the grounds of Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk’emlúps te Secwèpemc First Nation in British Columbia in June 2021, according to a document on the city’s website.
A Roman Catholic priest, Grandin, 1829-1902, was instrumental in establishing Canada’s Indian Residential School System (IRSS). Efforts to remove his name from assets have also surfaced in Morinville, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and elsewhere in the country.
Not erasing, but acknowledging history
Killick brought forward the motion to remove the Grandin name from all municipal assets in the city of St. Albert, something St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron said he had requested. He made it clear what he felt the vote was actually about.
"The neighbourhood is made up of people. It's a wonderful community in Grandin, so the culture of the neighbourhood will remain. But it is recognizing that the culture of our Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit children was erased at residential schools," Killick said.
Coun. Wes Brodhead said that the harm caused by the residential school system and the impacts it has on Indigenous people is real, and something that can't be up for debate.
"Today's decision is less about who we were as a community, or even who we are as a community, and more about who we want to be as a community," Brodhead said.
Coun. Natalie Joly said she has a long history with Grandin. Her father was raised there and her first home was in Grandin Village.
"Despite that deep connection with the neighbourhood, I know that this naming decision has nothing to do with my family and will have no impact on the memories I have of growing up biking Grandin streets, or visiting my grandparents in their Grandin home. Like many speakers have said, a community is not centred on a name, it's centred on people and relationships," Joly said.
She said the vote was a chance for the municipality to take action on number 57 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to educate themselves and the public about the history and lasting impacts of the residential school system.
Many of the speakers that addressed council on March 4 and March 18 asked the name not be changed to learn from history instead of erasing it.
"I think we can learn from the history books, not street signs or neighbourhood names," Killick said. "In fact, Bishop Grandin's history will not be erased at all, because he is in fact buried here in St. Albert."
Biermanski was critical of the renaming process and how it impacted the community.
"It's been drawn out, long, often void of neutrality, regularly allowed no room for discussion," Biermanski said. "Questions could not be asked without often unrelated scold. The process became the spite."
Hughes was also critical of the policy, and the anonymous nature of the original request to remove the Grandin name, that was then "anonymously vetted by an anonymous naming committee, to then anonymously say that it's valid."
"It's just easier if we just change this and say, 'a councillor brings forward a motion.' And we don't have to hide," Hughes said.
Biermanski wondered if the name change would only be the beginning of division.
"Will this name change be the cause of future battles? Will neighbours hate? Will shaming continue? Will we be changing past cruelty or creating infinite divide?" She added that reconciliation is a worthy goal, but said it won't be achieved by "rewriting history."
Heron offered an apology for the process, after a speaker said that there had been an apology from various levels of government and the church, but nothing from St. Albert.
"I think I've heard from everybody that it's confusing and for the most part, has been too long. Many of us, I think up here, think we should have done this a long time ago, very much like the Catholic school board did. And I think the process has caused further harm. So I apologize for that," Heron said.
The financial cost
Council also unanimously passed a motion to make up to $20,000 from the Stabilization Reserve available to reimburse the over 200 residents who would be affected by address changes.
While the city is covering the cost of changing the land titles which is estimated to come in at $100, residents may be charged a service fee when updating their identification, licenses, and vehicle registration. Maximum amounts are set in the Registry Agent Product Catalogue. Registries are being required to waive the provincial fees.
Overall, the cost to the city is estimated to come in at $18,600, which includes the cost to change land titles, change the street signs, and the Grandin Clubhouse sign.
Moving forward
Looking ahead at the new name, Heron was glad to see that it will still begin with a G. She said that growing up, she knew of the Grandin neighbourhood as the Gs.
"I am glad that the name Gardens puts at ease some of our resident's fears that it wouldn't be a G, or it wouldn't be something they understood. I think this is a name that really does represent St. Albert," she said.
"I hope today's decision will be seen as action, that it will be seen as kind, that it will be seen as understanding and acknowledging."
