Photo courtesy of the City of Saskatoon
The City of Saskatoon is asking for public input for naming the new North Commuter Parkway Bridge under construction in the city’s north end, and they are looking for a name that will reflect the First Nations and Metis contributions to the city.
Last summer, Councillor Darren Hill, asked the city’s administration to report back on how to engage the community as a whole to come up with an appropriate name for the pending North Commuter Parkway. Since then, a subcommittee has been formed to look at submissions for the new bridge.
Gilles Dorval, with the city’s Aboriginal Relations Department, says it’s a part of the call to action from the federal government’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee to participate in a strategy to commemorate Aboriginal peoples’ history and contributions to Canada. He says it’s important to recognize Indigenous people and their heritage.
“We’ve worked in naming two libraries (the Dr. Freda Ahenakew Library on 20th Street), which was renamed last winter, and we have the Round Prairie Library in Cornerstone that is named after the Round Prairie Metis Settlement,” he said.
Dorval says the city wants to recognize the importance First Nations and Metis people had in the history of the city.
“We’re not just building a bridge of steel and concrete to connect both sides of the river,” he added. “We’re building a bridge between the Indigenous community and non-Indigenous community.”
He says the city will be working with the schools starting in September to help educate students about the contributions Indigenous people have made to the city. He says they will have tables set up at public events to help people understand how they can get involved and how to make a submission. He says they are looking to have a name chosen by the time the new commuter parkway bridge is complete and ready to open in the fall of 2018.
People interested in making a submission can contact the City of Saskatoon, they can also check out the online form.