Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said on Monday that he’s open to renaming the Langevin Bridge in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report into residential school abuses.
Nenshi made the comments during the launch of Aboriginal Awareness Week at Olympic Plaza.
This year’s festivities have a special meaning, because they’re scheduled just weeks after the release of a report condemning the government’s actions surrounding residential schools.
One of the measures being considered as a result of the report is the renaming of Langevin Bridge.
Hector-Louis Langevin was a key architect in the creation of the residential school system, the education reform which saw First Nations children removed from their homes and placed in religious schools that stripped them of their culture and made them targets of abuse.
Mayor Nenshi suggested on Monday that renaming the bridge would made great strides towards reconciliation.
“He had next to no connection to Calgary. He visited once, as near as we can tell, and the reason the bridge is named after him is because he was the Federal Minister who approved the money for it.”
In the coming weeks, Nenshi says, council will look at renaming the bridge and any other possible means of reconciliation with Canada’s Aboriginal community.
The Aboriginal Awareness Week continues throughout the week with several events planned throughout Calgary.
There is a free Stampede breakfast on Saturday at the Indian Village on the Stampede Grounds, and an “Aboriginal Youth Explosion” at the John Dutton Theatre on Thursday.
For a full schedule, you can check the festival website.
