Around 25 St. Albert residents spoke on March 18 during what was an emotional city council meeting, speaking both in favour of renaming Grandin while recounting the harms done by residential schools, while others came out strongly against it.
St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron began with a set of ground rules for the speakers, which included no clapping, booing, or shouting during the meeting.
"There will be zero tolerance for denying the existence of residential schools or the harm caused to survivors of their families," Heron said. After the brief introduction, she opened it up to the list of registered speakers.
RELATED LINK: Grandin neighbourhood to be renamed to The Gardens
Some speakers spoke in favour of the renaming, acknowledging the continued harm the name Grandin and the residential school system brings members of the Indigenous community.
Alisia Perrault-Werner is a member of the St. Albert-Sturgeon County Métis Local 1904. She said the renaming was a complex issue for her.
"There are those in the Métis local who are not in favour of the Grandin renaming," Perrault-Werner said. She said her great-great grandfather worked closely with Bishop Grandin, and she said she recognized what a complex issue this is for many.
"We must acknowledge the multi-faceted legacy of Bishop Grandin. Let us acknowledge the hurt, extend compassion to one another and walk together towards a future where healing and understanding prevail," she said.
St. Albert Public Schools Trustee Sheyanne Levall-Crouse spoke about the city's naming policy, and urged them to put it into action by renaming the neighbourhood.
"I ask that city council please commit to leaning into discomfort and learning from it, allowing it to help you understand what your role may be in helping grow in more right relations," Levall-Crouse said. "Please help the city of St. Albert to cultivate reconciliation through reconcili-action and allow healing to happen."
Leeann Hilsen of the St. Albert-Sturgeon County Métis Local 1904 said she was shook to her core when she read the renaming report and encountered "words of denial, racism, and hatred directed at Indigenous people."
Amanda Patrick, resident and organizer of the 2024 Run for Reconciliation, said she's lived in and around St. Albert since she was nine years old, and moved back to Grandin in 2018 and still lives there. She said it's time for the name to change.
"It really is an immensely friendly and beautiful community to live in. I am grateful that I get to call it my home, and I really believe it deserves more than the name that represents it," Patrick said.
Kevin Malinowski, a 2025 city council candidate, said he does not envy the position council was in on March 18 and the decision they had to make, but urged them to continue with the renaming.
"The time is now to show the rest of Alberta and Canada that St. Albert does recognize the damage down and will continue on a path of reconciliation by renaming Grandin Park and all other city-controlled assets to a name other than Grandin," Malinowski said.
Other speakers asked council to keep the Grandin name. They recalled their memories of the neighbourhood, while also saying that the renaming is another example of cancel culture.
"For many, it stirs cherished memories of community, heritage and identity," St. Albert resident Mark Cassidy said. He said the name is tied to his memories at Grosvenor pool or the excitement of attending school. He said he was alarmed by the renaming application only requiring 50 signatures.
"This trend of cancel culture governance threatens our community's identity and aims to erase our shared history," he said.
Another St. Albert resident, Fred Holtslag, said that he believed the renaming would harm St. Albert residents and that council was trying to "cancel an important city founder and ignore his critical contributions to our city."
Cassidy added that he had filed a complaint with the Minister of Municipal Affairs because it's vital that council "honour and preserve our history."
Other speakers wanted to bring back the motion to make the renaming decision a plebiscite, something city council voted against on March 4.
"I come before you in absolute disappointment in the majority of council members, saddened by the fact we the people are not being given our democratic right to vote on this matter," Dick Tansey said, attending the meeting virtually.
"I urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to address this matter through a plebiscite," Paul McFarlane said. "When it comes to decisions of this magnitude and sensitivity, I ask you to recognize that you are morally bound to listen to the voice of the people."
At the end of the meeting, St. Albert city council voted to replace the Grandin name with The Gardens, effective Sept. 1, 2025.
