New West Progressives start petition to save Royal City moniker

The latest turn in the Royal City moniker debate now includes a petition started by the New West Progressives to reverse the decision made at council earlier this month. The motion to eliminate the city’s current branding was tabled by outgoing Mayor Jonathan Cote, and was supported by all but Coun. Chuck Puchmayr.

“It was like the lightbulb went on,” says council hopeful Daniel Fontaine, who has been door knocking in the lead-up to the Oct. 15 municipal election. “Almost every second door, somebody brought it up. But it’s a bit complex. It’s not just about the Royal City.”

Both Fontaine and fellow council contender karima budhwani say this is a symptom of members of the community not feeling heard. Budhwani, who was door knocking on Tuesday night, says she asked a woman if there was anything on her mind. Budhwani says the woman immediately brought up the issue of the moniker. Budhwani added the resident said felt she wasn’t heard in other decisions, like the shutdown of the New West recycling depot and the Canada Games pool. 

“The folks we’ve talked to since the July 11 meeting, it feels like [something] has awoken,” says Fontaine, who, when asked whether he supports the change, noted it was about the steps taken to engage the public in debate and discussion. “There has to be this proper process to do this.”

“My immediate thought was, ‘Have people been consulted?’ ” says budhwani. “Have all the stakeholders been consulted? We have our New West community; we have our Indigenous community.” Like Fontaine, budhwani says she’s focused more on the process. “I don’t want to make a comment about the logo itself before we’ve heard how everybody feels, and what they want to put forward as a city.”

In a release that went out with the petition Tuesday, budhwani asked why the suggestion to change the moniker wasn’t part of the Community First platform. New West Anchor pointed out to budhwani that Cote is not running for re-election. Fontaine argued budhwani’s point was fair, since Mayor Cote supports Community First.

Since the council meeting, Fontaine says he’s had a discussion with the mayor about the passing of the motion. “I said, ‘You know, it’s really opened up a lot of schisms.’ I’ve had people make comments about Indigenous people to me at the door, and how Indigenous people are doing this and that,” says Fontaine, who is Metis. After the motion, he says he re-read all 94 recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Fontaine is also wondering how the city’s rebranding fits the points outlined in the TRC, pointing to a comment made by former senator Murray Sinclair during an interview with The Canadian Press; in it, Sinclair says the act of tearing down statues or taking names off buildings feels rooted in anger or revenge, not creating balance in relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

New West Anchor reached out to the mayor via email to ask why the motion was not sent to a referendum or plebiscite option, or why it wasn’t put to Be Heard New West first. In response, Cote said it was important to note nothing is changing right now.

“While the current city council has approved the motion calling for an update of the city’s logo, they have also directed city staff to develop a plan to include the community in the development of a new city logo prior to any change being made,” Cote said, adding that there will be a draft community engagement plan after the municipal election. “It will be up to the incoming council to determine whether to approve the draft engagement plan, and how this work should be prioritized over the next council term.”