New Saint John committee will develop inclusive names for streets, public spaces

A new committee in Saint John, N.B., will be tasked with making the names of future city spaces and streets more inclusive.

The ‘Civic Commemoration Committee’ will be made up of two city councillors and five members of the public who will be selected from an application process. The application deadline for the committee is March 22.

Names for spaces in around the Fundy Quay property, which is currently under construction, will be the committee’s first priority.

A City Hall memo to council said “the objective is to populate the Committee with a diverse collective of individuals representing not only the prevailing white and loyalist heritage of Saint John, but the various cultures and histories that comprise our community’s evolving collective identity.”

Organizations representing Black, Indigenous, People of Colour and other ethno-cultural communities will also be invited to contribute.

“To progress and become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive city we need to have more representation so people feel that they’re seen in the city,” said Kate Wilcott, Saint John’s arts and culture coordinator. “We’d really like to have people who have lived experience and skills that would go into a committee like this.”

Several areas of Saint John already commemorate the city’s United Empire Loyalist heritage.

“However, there’s a lot of histories that are to be told,” said Phil Ouellette, Saint John’s director of growth and community planning. “The Civic Commemoration Committee is an excellent opportunity to bring in those perspectives, celebrate the multitude of histories that we have and to celebrate them respectively.”