Chelsea Council Report
Naming Highway 105
Reuel S. Amdur
Sir John A. Macdonald was instrumental in the establishment of Indian residential schools and in removal of the children from their families, to eliminate “savage” influences and “civilize” the children. He is also honored as a Father of Confederation. In 2013, the National Capital Commission renamed the Ottawa River Parkway in his honor, but in 2013 the name was changed again, this time to Kichi Zibi Mikan, Great River Road in the Algonquin language. Macdonald wanted to kill the Indian in the child, and so the residential schools punished children for speaking their aboriginal languages. Significantly, the change of name meant that the parkway’s name is now in a language he wanted to kill.
On March 11, the regular monthly meeting of Chelsea Council took up the naming of the section of Highway 105 within its boundaries. Council had invited the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Band Council for their suggestion, and they put forward the same name as that of the parkway, Kichi Zibi Mikan. Chelsea Council voted to include this name as one under consideration in a public consultation. Councillor Rita Jain voted against the motion, as she felt that the name should be adopted without going to public consultation.
Council repeated last year’s awarding of funds for projects proposed to promote a greener Chelsea. This time, two projects were chosen. One, at the Hendrick Farm Community Garden, is to provide the mobility-challenged the opportunity to garden, giving them access to accessible raised gardens. The other project is a continuation of a study of light pollution, conducted by ACRE (Action Chelsea for the Respect of the Environment).
At the meeting, resident David Stockwell spoke about the Gatineau River. He commented that, while public discussion of access was with reference to two access points, a planning document refers to four. He was also concerned about a study to which he was unable to gain access which addresses related safety concerns. He asked if any members of Council had read the report. None had.
