Burlington asks residents for help, suggestions to rename Ryerson Park

A southern Ontario city says it will rename a park named after an architect of the residential school system.

The City of Burlington says it is asking residents to develop a new name for Ryerson Park.

The park is named after Egerton Ryerson, who helped design both the public and residential school systems.

The local school board voted unanimously to change the nearby Ryerson Public School, and the council followed suit to change the park’s name.

The city says it is renaming the park out of respect for Indigenous residents after discovering mass graves at former residential schools across the country.

“Burlington’s Ryerson Public School, and adjacent Ryerson Park, are named after Egerton Ryerson for his contributions to the Ontario education system. However, Ryerson was also instrumental in designing Canada’s residential school system,” the City wrote in a news release.

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“In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada concluded this assimilation amounted to the genocide of Indigenous people.”

The final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission detailed widespread mistreatment at Canada’s residential schools, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and more than 4,000 deaths at the institutions.

The City of Burlington said it is accepting submissions for a new park name on its website until Sept. 11. Voting on a new name will begin on Sept. 20 until Oct. 1.

“The City of Burlington is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and the names we choose for our municipal properties must reflect that commitment – both as we advance and in retrospect,” said Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.

“As part of that commitment, City Council recently unanimously endorsed the Halton Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Charter. We have also recently updated our naming policies to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion are integrated into all our asset naming.”

Burlington’s move follows similar efforts elsewhere.

In nearby Hamilton, the public school board voted this summer to rename Ryerson Elementary School and said it will review the names of all its facilities to ensure they align with current values.

A statue of Ryerson at Ryerson University in Toronto was ripped down in June while municipalities across the country have removed other statues and names of those who helped create residential schools, including former prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald.

Hamilton Police continues to investigate after a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald was toppled following a rally at a city park on August 14. Macdonald is considered an architect of the country’s notorious residential school system that took Indigenous children from the families to assimilate them.

With files from Liam Casey of The Canadian Press