O’Grady Road will be given a new name following consultation with Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan.
At Monday night’s meeting (Aug. 30), city council unanimously voted to rename the road following a request received by Logan in July.
The College Heights area road is currently named after Bishop John Fergus O’Grady, who was a principal of three residential schools throughout his career, including Kamloops Indian Residential School where the remains of 215 children were found in unmarked graves.
In her request Logan had said, “Young children died while in the care of priests and nuns at these schools. Others were tortured, abused and ill-treated. The fact that Bishop O’Grady who O’Grady Road is named for, played a key role in the administration of residential schools in B.C. while deaths and abuse of children occurred, is reason enough to change the name.”
The University of British Columbia is also repealing the honorary degree it conferred to O’Grady in 1986.
During council’s discussion. Coun. Skakun read aloud a letter written by O’Grady in 1948 to parents stating “it will be your privilege to have your Children spend Christmas with you” and that if parents do not bring their children back on time “they will not be allowed to go home for Christmas next year.”
After reading the letter, Skakun said he was in favour of the name change.
“For me this is about reconciliation and righting some of the wrongs of the past.”
Coun. Cori Ramsay also spoke in favour of the name change.
“There’s a lot of devastation around residential schools. People in our community went to residential schools and they have to look at this name every single day and remember the trauma they incurred and so when Lheidli T’enneh sends us this letter asking us to change the name I’m in full support of that.”
Mayor Hall noted that the city meets regularly with Chief Logan and the topic of conversation at the next meeting will be consulting on the name change.
Coun. Kyle Sampson said he’d like to include the current residents of the road in the process but also was in support of the motion.
“When we hear from our local First Nation that this causes hurt in their community, easy decision in my mind.”
There are five commercial businesses along this road and approximately 100 manufactured homes within the College Heights Mobile Home Park and about 41 other dwellings that would be potentially subject to needing an address change.
Administration has confirmed City of Prince George records would be updated at no cost to the owners, occupants, or businesses and private utilities (i.e. Telus, Shaw, Fortis BC, and BC Hydro) will update their records with the updated information as the city will send a confirmation letter advising of a road name change.
Canada Post has also advised that the residents affected by the name change would receive complimentary mail forwarding for one year.
“We can’t ignore the letter from Chief Logan asking us to change this because of the hurt and sorrow. We have to give such a little amount to give back so much so it’s a no-brainer for me,” said Coun. Terri McConnachie.
The previous name of O’Grady Road was College Road. It was renamed from College Road to O’Grady Road on April 10, 1989.
