Should Whitby rename Dundas Street? Toronto change prompts debate

Thestar.com
Aug. 3, 2021
Tim Kelly

Now that Toronto has decided it will rename Dundas Street, should Whitby follow suit?

It’s an open question after the City of Toronto acted on the will of a 14,000-signature petition in a 17-7 council vote in July to go ahead and rename Dundas Street.

Councillors were convinced the name was no longer appropriate for one of Toronto’s main streets, since it’s named after a man who reportedly delayed the ending of the trans-Atlantic slave trade (see sidebar).

There are other streets in Durham Region that either have had their names changed recently: Ajax renamed a street in 2020 after naming it in 2007 for the captain of a Nazi warship in an act of reconciliation; Oshawa has a motion that's come forward regarding renaming a downtown street as well. And the Durham District School Board is grappling with renaming schools in the wake of historic and new equity rules for naming.

Whitby councillors think the decision about renaming Dundas street should largely be left in the hands of the citizens of Whitby and business owners on the street itself.

For local businessperson Greg Frankson, there is no doubt on the issue. He wants Dundas Street renamed.

“Is it more important to do the right thing right now or to save a few dollars at the expense of people who live in your community,” Frankson said.

“Ultimately, Whitby council has to make a decision about whose history matters in this town, and here’s a golden opportunity for them to put their money where their mouth is on their declarations on diversity and inclusion,” he said.

The Congress of Black Women Canada Oshawa-Whitby chapter wants to see a name change too.

“For what we’re trying to bring forward for diversity, it’s a good idea to get rid of the name,” said Angela Todd Anderson, president of the chapter.

She said she thinks it would make sense to return the street to Hwy. 2 or Kingston Road, which is what the street is named in neighbouring municipalities.

Reg. Coun. Elizabeth Roy, the city representative on Whitby’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, said there has been no discussion at committee as yet on the issue.

The committee next meets Sept. 2, when it may come up for discussion, Roy said.

“I haven’t seen any emails or social media posts locally pushing for a change,” she said. “The community seem to be paying more attention to the COVID-19 Step 3 return."

Reg. Coun. Rhonda Mulcahy said she had asked staff to find out how much the name change would cost.

The cost to rename Dundas Street in Toronto, which will involve thousands of businesses and residences over a much larger area than in Whitby, is estimated to be $6 million.

Mulcahy said Town staff were asking the Chamber of Commerce what businesses would have to spend to make the change. “Once we have all that information, we can make an informed decision,” she said.

“Coming out of a pandemic, I don’t want to burden anyone financially so we need to work to find ways ... In order for any change to happen. I am fully prepared to do that in the name of inclusion. I think that if this name is offensive, we owe it to listen to our community.”

Reg. Coun. Steve Yamada also signalled a cautious note on the issue.

“If this is something the community wants to see, let’s have an open dialogue about it and see what the cost implications would be to businesses coming out of pandemic and to the municipality as a whole,” Yamada said.

In Oshawa, Coun. Derek Giberson has introduced a motion to consider renaming Bagot Street, in the heart of the downtown (the main branch of the Oshawa Public Library is on Bagot Street), because he said it is named after Sir Charles Bagot, one of the first governor generals of Upper Canada who, in 1842, initiated a report that included a call for the introduction of what became residential schools.

“I think symbols are powerful and words are powerful,” Giberson said.

“Regardless of what Bagot’s intentions were at the time, people have had to live with that trauma (of what he did),” Giberson said.

“Is it more important to retain a street name or to do one step in seeking truth and reconciliation,” Giberson added.

“It’s interesting, because if you think you’re erasing history by changing street names, the biggest address on Bagot Street (Oshawa Public Library main branch), is the perfect place to go to learn about the history of changing street names,” Giberson said.

In Ajax, they’ve already changed a street name that was only recently named in honour of someone.

Langsdorff Drive, named for Admiral Hans Langsdorff, commander of the German naval ship the Graf Spee that was involved in the Battle of the River Plate in 1939 that involved HMS Ajax, was only named in 2007 by Ajax Council.

After a fight with three Allied vessels in the Battle of the River Plate, Langsdorff sailed into the port at Montevideo, Uruguay. Three days later, he scuttled his ship and then died by suicide.

But at the urging of the public, Langsdorff Drive will be renamed Croker Drive, after V.G. Croker and A.J. Croker, two seamen. A.J. Croker died in 1939 during the Battle of the River Plate while serving on the HMS Exeter, while V.G. Croker served on the HMS Ajax from 1940-41.

An Ajax resident who is Jewish objected to the Langsdorff name, feeling it glorified a Nazi. In 2007, it had been named in honour of Langsdorff in an act of reconciliation, but in a 4-3 vote in 2020, Ajax council had a change of heart.

And at the Durham District School Board, what to name schools in Durham -- and what to rename them -- has been a hot topic in recent months.

It started with questions about whether Julie Payette Public School in Whitby should be renamed following the former governor general’s resignation amid allegations of bullying. Trustees voted in May to start the process to rename that school, as well as Sir John A. Macdonald Public School in Pickering.

The Durham District School Board has also approved a new school naming policy, which aims to ensure school names line up with the board’s position on equity and inclusion.