Final vote to rename John A Macdonald Road sparks debate

Some residents in Saskatoon will be changing addresses without having to move after city council finalized the name change for John A. Macdonald Road Wednesday.

Despite council unanimously approving a request to change the name to miyo-wâhkôhtowin Road in late August, the final vote sparked debate.

Councillors Darren Hill, Bev Dobois and Randy Donauer voted against the bylaw to allow the name change expressing concern about the process used to arrive at the name change.

“There’s been many concerns identified about the process that I’ve heard. I also have concerns myself about this being the start of a slippery slope,” said Randy Donauer.

“It’s not my intention that we start going around Saskatoon changing street names, park names and pulling down statues,” he added.

Administration is currently undertaking a review that will more clearly spell out the city’s street naming policy in the future.

Councillors opposed noted they would have rather waited for that review to be completed before going through with the re-naming.

“We have no opened the flood gates to many more names to be brought forward. We need a policy in place first. We did not put that policy in place, that is our fault,” said Darren Hill.

Councillor Mairin Loewen acknowledged the consultation process for re-naming didn’t meet the expectations of the public.

“I’m not willing to abandon what I think is an important piece of work based on some flaws in the process,” Loewen said.

“I also think there is zero risk of John A. Macdonald being forgotten by history because of this name change. That’s not the not the point of street names and parks. Those are places of honour and we, as a community, get to decide what we want to use those for.”

Signage for the street is set to change in the coming weeks, according to the city.

The city is also preparing a guide for residents which will outline next steps including how to change addresses and legal documents.