City staff are recommending four options in response to the Dundas Street petition calling on the historic thoroughfare to be renamed due to its ties to anti-Black racism.
Today, the city released a briefing note that said any decision to rename a major arterial road requires careful consideration of its potential impacts and should be an inclusive public process that responds to the community at large.
The note laid out four recommendations for considering a name change to Dundas Street that will be discussed and analysed in a report for city council to review on September 23.
The suggestions are: keeping the name the same, retaining the name with additional interpretation and recognitions, keeping the name but renaming civic assets with Dundas in their name or renaming the street and other civic assets with the name.
“Considering the renaming of Dundas Street is just the beginning of the work we need to do to build a Toronto where we all belong,” Mayor John Tory said in a press release issued today. “I appreciate the thoughtful and thorough research and analysis that has gone into this briefing note by city staff and look forward to the working group’s future recommendations.”
The call for action comes after Torontonian Andrew Lochhead created an online petition in early June called “Lets Rename Dundas Street in Toronto.” The petition urges Toronto city council to cut its “historic associations with people who have worked toward preserving systems of racial inequality and exploitation,” referring specifically to the namesake of Dundas Street, Henry Dundas.
In his petition, Lochhead said Henry Dundas participated in obstructing the abolition of slavery in the British Empire from 1791 to the end of his political career in 1806.
The petition was created after weeks of worldwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice. As of Tuesday afternoon, 14,183 people have signed the petition.
In response to the city’s next steps, Lochhead tweeted on Tuesday “the fight to rename Dundas Street and remove the names of colonizers, slavers and perpetuators of genocide from our city streets and monuments is FAR from over. But a process has begun. Let’s keep the pressure up!”
According to the briefing note, city staff said the report will also calculate the estimated costs that businesses, organizations, homeowners and residents on Dundas Street could face if there is a name change. A community engagement strategy will also be outlined to address all civic assets with the Dundas name, including streets, parks, TTC, Toronto Public Library and Yonge-Dundas Square.
In addition, city staff said the report will propose a framework to more broadly understand and respond to how systemic racism and discrimination are embedded in city assets, commemorative programs and naming policies.
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