Remembering Ottawa: Stories and Legacies

Do Not Commemorate People

Further to this idea please take into account what has happened in the past week at Ryerson and Harvard. It is inevitable that by naming things after people who are 'deserving' in our times the future will quite often bring crashing down those honours based upon evolving societal values.

A map or augmented reality app for looking up the persons/events commemorated would’ve be great.

Virtual plaques

We have many memorials where we express grief or remorse. We need celebratory monuments. Ex. Emancipation Monument not Slavery Memorial

Less memorials more celebration

Dedicated parks commemorating events or communities where people can celebrate. Ex. Celebrate Victoria Day in Platinum Jubilee Park

Celebratory Spaces

Problems With Honouring People

I have mentioned before that there are dangers in naming places after people. Have a look at the March 19 Globe and Mail and see that Lester Pearson was part of the witch hunt for gay people and covered up his role in an interrogation and death of a friend and diplomat. This will almost always happen. Let's name places and things after thoughts and ideas and hopes and dreams and plants and the sky and seasides and landscapes. All beautiful images that would be evoked. Not neutral things such as the comment suggested but lively vivid parts of our world and even the universe.

Do Not Name Anything After People

Make the nomination process easier

It is hard to know if anyone else is working on a submission or if no one is working on it. (Or even if the person has declined to be nominated.) Additionally the paperwork is long. I wish it was easier to get people nominated. The task seem overwhelming and I am doing a non contraversial person well known to those at city hall. If we want a diverse group, we need a simple process.

Eliminate dangers of naming places and things after people altogether.

As we see here and abroad there are problems with naming places after people. Often it is self-congratulatory and as we see times change. Even John A. MacDonald for heavens sake. Let us not continue to make the same mistake. By the way - a nurse or a teacher or a garbage collector are at least as valuable as a politician or other 'celebrity' figure. I don't intend this to be mean spirited. I simply think that naming after people is just asking for trouble and is an example of ongoing colonialism and classicism.

Allow students to do the land acknowledgement

Our land acknowldgements has become a bit boilerplate at the start of planning, police and council meetings. (I don't think any other committees or boards do an land acknowlegement.) Looking at the work done in our schools during Treaty recognition week, I was struck by how many school kids have something to share about land and reconcilation. The image shown is from OCDSB website on Orange Shirt Day 2021. I would like to suggest that a video taped land acknowledgement of less than 5 minutes from a different class or student each meeting would make people pay more attention. I am suggesting video because 1) because meetings are online 2) it gives more control on the length 3) it is less disruptive to teaching and 4) it would allow the indigenious Affairs office to preview the submission for missteps before it was played. It is not meaningful reconcilation to recite off a pledge. Asking the class to read the acknowledgemnt then show or tell us what reconcilation means to them opens the minds of the adults to change their thinking.