The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Victoria council isn’t at the point of launching into a full name change for Trutch Street in Fairfield, but unanimously voted Thursday as committee of the whole to ask staff to report back on the various implications of doing so.
That report is expected to come back to councillors for discussion in late September or early October, according to city staff.
The motion to investigate the renaming to Truth Street, brought forward by Mayor Lisa Helps and Couns. Ben Isitt, Sarah Potts and Jeremy Loveday, instructed city staff to investigate the option of using a municipal grant or other assistance to offset costs involved to residents of the 60 households that would be impacted on the two-block street.
Also part of the process will be to ask for comments or suggestions from the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations on the proposed change, including any cultural or ceremonial work that would need to take place, as well as solicit input from Trutch Street residents and the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association.
RELATED STORY: Victoria council to consider switching Trutch Street to Truth Street
Coun. Marianne Alto said council and the city need to determine how this process might affect future considerations of such issues.
“If we are going to go down this path, we need to make a decision whether we are going to arbitrarily make changes to place names,” she said, noting that the city’s priorities aren’t necessarily the same as local First Nations. Consulting with the Songhees and Esquimalt is critical to getting this right, she added, so waiting to make a decision until that and other information is received makes sense.
Loveday said he likes the symbolism of dropping a letter from the name.
“I think it’s a change that people can wrap their head around rather than an open-ended process, but if the Esquimalt or Songhees have a specific name they would like to see, we need to be open to that,” he said.
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