Public Realm in Canadian Cities - Developments

[WhipperSnapper]

Fair enough. It could have been worse.

First, most of these name changes or things like land recognition are ceremonial that accomplish nothing. Second, the social cause tends to cherry pick the one thing befitting cancellation ignoring an entire lifetime of accomplishments such as Ryerson or Isabel Mackenzie King.

An analogy is parliament celebrating a WW2 veteran to score brownie points without taking a few seconds to check which side he fought for.

[Acajack]

Note that Toronto also wants to name a stadium for Rob Ford, who was caught saying the dreaded n-word on video.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Note that Toronto also wants to name a stadium for Rob Ford, who was caught saying the dreaded n-word on video.

Wasn't that idea axed years ago after his death? They wanted to name the stadium or field at the high-school he spent more time at then at City Hall.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Note that Toronto also wants to name a stadium for Rob Ford, who was caught saying the dreaded n-word on video.

I don't recall this situation. Keep in mind there are suggestions made all the time that the media than blow up into a story.

There's a convoluted connection between Thermes contract to develop Ontario Place and the sale of Deco Lables US operations. That's something I can get behind.

[niwell]

They are planning to rename the “stadium” in centennial park in Etobicoke after Rob. I’m fine with it. Note that calling it a stadium is a bit of a stretch - it’s a field/running track with some bleachers.

And let’s be real, this was very much a consolation ask by Doug as part of the New Toronto Deal which is otherwise very much in the city’s favour.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I'm actually a fan of giving the square an actually name. However, the chosen name , in my humblest opinion, is stupid. It's irrelevant to local history and at least 98% of the population today and not representative of the origins in the projected population of the future. The only rationale for choosing it was as reparations to the injustices of the man behind the naming of Dundas Street to which no one knew about until it became a social justice cry to arms and his legacy will be forgotten once again in short order.

Then there's the place of origin with a shady human rights track record and certainly far beneath Canada's.

I'm not patriotic by any means. (English) Canada doesn't have a well defined identity and that's probably a good thing. However, What little definable identity there is being deteriorated and, for me, it's a concern

As somebody that counts Toronto as my hometown, I think this name is ridiculous. I would have much rather had it named after a famous Toronto resident. It's not even the reactionary way in which names are cancelled that bugs me so much as the even more idiotic way they pick replacements after. Would Jane Jacobs Square have been so hard? Heck, Chow should have gone for it and named it Jack Layton Square and that would have been still been popular even with people who were his political opponents. Even using a noun or political achievement would be better if they want to make redress. Say Freedom or Emancipation Square.

[Acajack]

Jacobs or Layton would've been great but both white people. Plus wasn't Jacobs Jewish?

[Martin Mtl]

National Bank Place / Parc Michel-Bélanger

Design:Claude Cormier (CCxA)

The sculpture is by artist Myfanwy MacLeod
Title of work: The Song of the Dodo
Description of work:
The Song of the Dodo is a memorial to the species we have lost through ignorance or prejudice; it is a cautionary tale. The iconic image of the dodo as a fat, clumsy and not particularly smart bird was made famous in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is believed that the dodo's lack of intelligence, accentuated by its odd physical appearance, led to its extinction and tragic demise. Unfortunately, the bird’s openness, curiosity, and fearlessness likely made it easy prey. Coupled with the destruction of its natural habitat by humans, this led to its eventual disappearance. In 1662, a Dutchman briefly marooned on the island of Mauritius gave the last credible eyewitness account of a living dodo. Since then, the song of the dodo, if it ever had one, has been lost to human memory. Inspired by Montreal’s historic Square Victoria and the landscape designed by CCxA Landscape Architects, this sculpture of a dodo—part of the same family as the common pigeon—invites us to reflect on this loss and celebrate nature’s diversity. It encourages us to consider those marginalized by intolerance and discrimination. Situated in front of National Bank Place, The Song of the Dodo underscores the organization’s commitment to protecting the environment. A portion of the amount allocated to this artwork will be donated to Bird Protection Quebec, an organization dedicated to education, conservation and the protection of bird species. The Song of the Dodo will therefore help preserve wildlife habitat for the future.

The park is not open to the public yet, it's still UC, but this morning the gate was open so I went in to take pictures.

[Acajack]

In honour of Dominique Michel?

I was sure she'd come back!

[niwell]

Hell yeah my idea for statues of extinct megafauna is coming to fruition!

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Jacobs or Layton would've been great but both white people. Plus wasn't Jacobs Jewish?

There are famous non-white Torontonians, Ontarians and Canadians they could have chosen. For example:

https://www.lgontario.ca/en/lg/lincoln-alexander/

But again, if they were choosing an idea why use a foreign word that is not relevant to the majority of locals or our history? Why not use the local Mississauga/Anishinaabe word if they don't want to use English?

[Truenorth00]

Fundamentally, the biggest problem with these decisions is that they are done with little to no public input. Just a setup for renaming when the next political wave comes along.

It's not just the left that is guilty of this nonsense. See the renaming of the Parkways in Ottawa.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Fundamentally, the biggest problem with these decisions is that they are done with little to no public input. Just a setup for renaming when the next political wave comes along.

It's not just the left that is guilty of this nonsense. See the renaming of the Parkways in Ottawa.

Not that they are my heroes but the parkways in Ottawa were renamed for the people who were arguably the founders of the geopolitical arrangement we are living in.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Not that they are my heroes but the parkways in Ottawa were renamed for the people who were arguably the founders of the geopolitical arrangement we are living in.

It's pretty hypocritical to argue the woke renaming policy is ridiculous political overreach and then say it's fine for two roads with well known completely apolitical and geographically relevant names to get renamed after two Conservative Prime Ministers just because the Conservative PM of the day felt like it.

I'd rather we stop letting politicians name or rename major landmarks at a whim and entirely out of personal political motivation without local public input (or in the case of the Parkways in spite of local opinion).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

It's pretty hypocritical to argue the woke renaming policy is ridiculous political overreach and then say it's fine for two roads with well known completely apolitical and geographically relevant names to get renamed after two Conservative Prime Ministers just because the Conservative PM of the day felt like it.

I'd rather we stop letting politicians name or rename major landmarks at a whim and entirely out of personal political motivation without local public input (or in the case of the Parkways in spite of local opinion).

John A. Macdonald was a francophone who probably didn't like people like me very much.

Still, in the context of relevancy for Canada:

John A Macdonald > Sankofa

[Acajack]

*francophobe

[savevp]

Lost in all this is an apparently well-publicised history of slave trading by the Akan people, who are credited with originating the concept of Sankofa. Something I discovered accidentally when trying to learn about this new term, as it has no local context.

If the city must, at the cost of millions of dollars, rename the square, surely they could have picked something indigenous or otherwise remotely contextual.

There is a certain pathetically predictable irony in renaming public realm to expunge the memory of someone who was a slavery abolitionist, albeit a slow one, only to replace it with a term from a robust slave trading tribe, but not acknowledge this because they are Black.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Jacobs or Layton would've been great but both white people. Plus wasn't Jacobs Jewish?

I always thought that Jacobs was likely Jewish but after reading a bit about her I've learned that she wasn't. She was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania which is the same place Joe Biden was born.

[samne]

Love the Dodo Bird sculpture in National Bank Place. The scale looks wild in those pics.

I don’t have an issue with naming a parkette or something Sanofka, but one of the main city squares? Sounds a little over compensating and don’t think has any connection with the location or what it is.

Something Aboriginal would be more appropriate.

[WhipperSnapper]

The bird is awesome. Everything about the oversized urinal cake park should irk me but, I'm not irked by it.