Oshawa street named after Residential School founding father finally getting name change
Published September 6, 2024 at 12:13 pm
It’s taken three years to get here but a street named for one of the founding fathers of the Residential School system may finally get a name change this month.
Bagot Street, a road with just four addresses on it but considered an important connection to as it leads directly to Oshawa City Hall, the McLaughlin Public Library and the Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery, will be known as Debwewin Miikan – ‘Truth Road’ in Anishinaabemowin – if Council passes the bylaw September 23.
The name change first made it to the Council floor in the fall of 2021 and was approved in June of this year.
Bagot Street has been in use in Oshawa since 1868 and was named after Charles Bagot, who served as Governor-General of the Province of Canada from 1842-1843. Bagot was best known for his 1844 Report on the Affairs of Indians in Canada, a foundational document in the establishment of the Residential School system.
Ward 4 Councillor Derek Giberson, who put the original motion forward in June, said he didn’t believe the name change will “fix” anything but noted at the time that a name “so evocative of the pain and suffering of so many does not belong in a prominent place in our city centre.”
“I fully expect that some will label this as ‘cancel culture’ but I won’t lose sleep over that,” Giberson added. “It’s not much to ask for those unaffected, but might mean something to those who have been, and is at least a small added step on a longer path we need to commit to.”
The name change was the result of extensive consultation from local Indigenous groups. Three letters were also sent to property owners and one tenant, with feedback received from just one, indicating a lack of support for the change.
Each of the three property owners will be compensated $250 for their troubles and the cost of the new signage will come in at about $5,000.
Those wishing to address Council on the matter need to submit their request in writing to the City Clerk, 50 Centre Street South, 5th Floor, Rundle Tower, L1H 3Z7, by email at [email protected] or by fax at (905) 436-5697 no later than 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 18.
