The mayor of Lunenburg, N.S., says council is now considering “alternate options” after facing backlash for renaming the town’s Cornwallis Street after the queen.
Town council announced in January the street that honoured a colonial governor who issued a bounty on the scalps of Mi’kmaq people would be changed following recommendations from an anti-racism committee.
Last week council voted to rename the roadway Queen Street, the first choice among 342 respondents to a town survey, receiving 35 per cent of votes.
Margie Knickle, a resident who was a member of the anti-racism committee, says she’s extremely disappointed by the choice to replace one colonial street name with another.
The other street name options on the list were tied to Mi’kmaq culture, including E’se’katik, which is the original Mi’kmaq name for Lunenburg and means “place of clams.”
Knickle says the move to select “Queen” shows how out of touch the town is about what reconciliation means.
Lunenburg Mayor Jamie Myra said in a statement Monday council has heard the concerns put forward by residents about the name choice, and they are working on possible alternate options “on which we can all agree.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2023.
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