Save Wellington Street !

It’s a new year, we have entered in 2012 which means we are only few months away from the 180th anniversary of the Rideau Canal opening in May 1832, and the 160th anniversary of the Duke of Wellington’s passing in September 1852.

As of today, the most recent “status update” from the Planning Committee shows no change from the previous update and the report Renaming of Wellington Street to Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard ACS2010-CCS-PEC-0026 is still scheduled for Q1 2012. This means that before the end of March 2012, something will happen.

Stay tuned …

According to the last “Status Report” made available on the agenda for next week’s meeting of the Planning Committee, the report concerning the renaming of Wellington Street, initially scheduled for September 13, is now scheduled for 2012 Q1.

This confirms the information published in an earlier update.

We would also like to point out that the sponsor of the renaming of Wellington Street, Mr. Bob Plamondon, has now put an end to his campaign according to an op-ed he wrote for the Ottawa Citizen during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Therefore, we are putting the “Save Wellington Street” campaign component of opposing the street renaming on hold pending any new developments.

Our campaign has achieved its primary goal to “save” Wellington Street from being renaming, something we had equaled to historical vandalism.

Since the beginning of the campaign, we have advocated for the renaming of Airport Parkway as the alternative. Considering that Mr. Plamondon is now proposing the renaming of Ottawa River Parkway, this element is no longer necessary.

The last component of our campaign was to have Wellington Street designated as a National Historical District. We will pursue this element and announce more details briefly.

The campaign website will be maintain until the matter at city hall is completed closed with either the cancellation of the report or the submission of the report, we hope the former. Once that happens, the website will continue for the last component of our campaign.

In closing, we would like to thank all our supporters who have made this victory possible.

Note: a press release on Thursday Oct. 20 will provide more details on the future direction of the campaign.

As announced last Friday, the report titled “Street Name Change – Wellington Street
(reference: ACS2010-CCS-PEC-0026 (PEC 06-10), which was initially scheduled for September 13th and postponed for the 27th, has now been delayed indefinitely.

It has now been more than 18 months ago since this ill-considered idea of renaming Ottawa’s oldest and most prestigious street has been proposed. The instigator and sole supporter of the “pro renaming” side, Mr. Bob Plamondon has failed to demonstrate that there was a need for the renaming, failed to explain why he used political connections to bypass the regular process and show complete disregard for the City of Ottawa’s by-laws (see note 1 at end), and failed to garner any support at all from the community and local population.

In the meantime, those against the renaming have been very vocal. They include the editorial boards of the National Post, Globe and Mail, and Montreal Gazette, along with dozen of eminent Canadians from civil society and academia, local politicians, heritage and history organizations.

The “Save Wellington Street” campaign was launched by the Société Macdonald-Cartier Society on June 22nd 2010 in anticipation of the July 5, 2010 meeting of the then-PEC (Planning and Environment Committee – now Planning Committee). At that meeting, the committee had approved “public consultations”. In the nearly 15 months since, there have been no such consultations with the public.

With the support of the Mayor of City of Ottawa, his Worship Jim Watson, we certainly hope that the Planning Committee will withdraw the need for a report. The community is against the renaming and the waste of over a million dollars it would entail to reprint the business cards and other office supplies for the thousands of government workers and staff that use Wellington Street as their business location.

In the early days of the “Save Wellington Street” campaign, SMCS took two initiatives to firstly safeguard the historic and unique character of Wellington Street, and secondly offer a common-sense alternative. We have opened a file to designate Wellington Street as National Historic District, and the file remains opened until the renaming issue gets settled at city hall. There are dozen buildings that are individually registered as National Historic Sites but the heritage status of the street that connects the district known as “Parliament Hill” or “Parliamentary Precinct” is not recognized.

We have also offered a common-sense alternative to renaming Wellington Street. Considering that Ottawa’s airport is named Macdonald-Cartier International Airport and considering that the only road that leads from the airport to downtown is Airport Parkway and that the name is administrative bland, we have suggested to rename the road to Macdonald-Cartier (Airport) Parkway. This would be a low-cost (very few street signs, no houses or businesses affected) and common-sense solution to naming an important road after the two prominent figures of Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier. Proceeding in this matter would also achieve the same goals Mr. Plamondon has claimed as his motivation, while preserving intact the name of the two oldest streets of Bytown/Ottawa : Wellington Street and Rideau Street (one continuous street divided by the Rideau Canal).

In closing, we wish to highlight once again the 185th anniversary of the founding of Bytown on September 26, 2011 and would of wished the City had done something to recognize this important event.

Note 1 : According to the Commemorative Naming Policy, an individual cannot be commemorated more than once. Since there already exists a MacDonald Street (misspelled) commemorating Sir John A. Macdonald, another street would violate the policy. Furthermore, Wellington Street does not qualify as a “Boulevard”. Notwithstanding these technical aspects, SMCS is not opposed to more commemorations of Sir John A., but opposed to the renaming of Ottawa’s oldest street.

Reports are in from inside city hall that Councilor Peter Hume (friend of Bob Plamondon – the instigator of the renaming – and Chair of Planning Committee) has requested to delay indefinetely the report titled “Renaming of Wellington Street” which was first due Sept 13 and postponed to the Sept 27th meeting.

More details are to follow next week once the agenda for the Sept 27 meeting is published and the information confirmed.

It’s been almost a month since the exhibit to mark Colonel By Day held in Ottawa on August 1st.

There hadn’t been any developments regarding the Wellington Street file until this afternoon.

The lead staff at Ottawa’s City Hall on the file, Arlene Grégoire has informed us that the street renaming report that was scheduled for the September 13 meeting has been bumped by another two weeks.

Therefore, we can now expect the next battle over saving Wellington Street to happen on September 27, 2011.

This will be even more awkward than the original date.

September 13 2011 was one day before the 159th anniversary of the death of the Duke of Wellington on September 14 1852.

September 27 2011 will be one day after the 185th anniversary of the founding of Bytown. Wellington Street (and Rideau Street) being the original two street laid down.
It will remain interesting to see how the anniversary will provide additional context to report and the decision of the Planning Committee.

As we have already demonstrated, the historical precedent set by City Council in 2003/2004 hints that the section of Wellington Street downtown will remain untouched.

We can also look at additional hints such as the recent approval of a new business with civic address on Wellington Street.

During our exhibit for Colonel By Day, the popular opinion was quasi-unanimously against the renaming.

That said, we must remain vigilant and with less than a month to go before the critical meeting of the Planning Committee, we urge all people of Ottawa and all Canadians to contact Ottawa’s city councilors to express their opposition to the renaming.

While can already count on the support of His Worship Mayor Jim Watson for our campaign, the opinion of individual councilors remains uncertain, especially those from the Planning Committee.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Société Macdonald-Cartier Society Celebrates Colonel By Day in Ottawa

Organization to participate in exhibit celebrating the founding of Ottawa, Ontario

OTTAWA, ON. July 29, 2011 – The Société Macdonald-Cartier Society has been confirmed as an exhibitor at Ottawa’s Colonel By Day, a celebration of Lt-Colonel By, founder of Bytown (now Ottawa) who oversaw the construction of the Rideau Canal. The annual festival, held at the Bytown Museum and Ottawa Locks, is a free heritage festival featuring musical performances, vibrant costuming and interactive exhibits.

Launched last summer by the Society, the ‘Save Wellington Street’ campaign celebrates the history and heritage of Ottawa’s oldest street, Wellington Street. The participation in this year’s Colonel By Day festivities marks a new milestone in the campaign. The Society will present an exhibit titled ‘The Duke, The Colonel and the Canal’ that will highlight the important connections between the Duke of Wellington, Lt-Colonel By and the Rideau Canal.

The Society’s exhibit will present visitors with visual materials such as articles, letters and maps that will illustrate the history of Wellington Street and its significance to our Nation’s Capital. The materials depict how the Duke played a major role in Canadian society, having drafted a defence plan for the colony and personally choosing the location of the Canal.

Reflecting on the Duke’s contributions, Immanuel Giulea, founder of the Society, said “Following the War of 1812, the threat of hostilities with the Americans remained a concern for the Duke. Had he not insisted that Canada’s defence on Lake Ontario depended on a secure supply route between Kingston and Montreal, away from the American border, the Rideau Canal would not have been built”.

Colonel By Day celebrations are part of the weekend-long Rideau Canal Festival. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has said of the festival, “The Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stands apart as one of our most iconic and precious landmarks. This Festival is a remarkable opportunity for residents and tourists to connect with the Canal, and value its significance to the nation’s capital.”

The Colonel By Day heritage festival begins opening ceremonies at 11:00 AM on Monday, August 2, 2011 and runs until 4:00 PM at the Bytown Museum and Ottawa Locks located between Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier. A representative from the Société Macdonald-Cartier Society will be available throughout the day.

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The Société Macdonald-Cartier Society is one of Canada’s most dynamic youth-led non-profit organizations. Its mandate is to educate young leaders about Canadian history, heritage and culture; increase their level of civic literacy; and bring their voices and ideas to the nation’s public policy discourse.

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Immanuel Giulea, Founder and Executive Director, at immanuel@macdonaldcartier.org or 514-577-2669.

Have you ever wondered about the founding date of Bytown (now Ottawa) ??

What began as a military settlement, then evolved into a village, city and is now know as Capital City.

In their book, entitled “Making a Capital” editors Jeff Keshen and Nicole St-Onge tell the early history of Bytown.

The founding of the small village is highly connected with the approval to build the canal, ordered by the Duke of Wellington.

From the screenshot below, we find out that the founding date of Bytown is considered to be September 26, 1826. This is the date Colonel John By met with Lord Dalhousie (George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie).

Lord Dalhousie is recognized with a fairly important street, Dalhousie Street that goes from Besserer Street (Sandy Hill), crosses Bytown Market and ends at Boteler Street (Lowertown).

Many other streets in lower and upper Bytown were named either after important personages related to the construction of the Rideau Canal (e.g. MacKay Street) and/or had connections with the Duke of Wellington and/or were administrators of Canada and/or members of the Royal Family during the early-mid 19th century (e.g. York Street)

As Wellington Street and Rideau Street were the first two streets named in Bytown, they serve the greater purpose to connect current-day Canadians to the early beginnings of a small military settlement that eventually evolved into our nation’s Capital.

As such, Wellington Street is Ottawa’s most important historic street and belongs to all Canadians.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Société Macdonald-Cartier Society marks one-year anniversary of campaign

Youth-led organization continues to defend the name of Wellington Street downtown Ottawa

Ottawa, ON., 22 June 2011 : Today, Société Macdonald-Cartier Society marks the first anniversary of the launch of their campaign, Save Wellington Street.

The Society believes that it is ill-conceived to rename Wellington Street, the name of the Duke of Wellington, the greatest hero of Macdonald’s youth and formative years in Canada, all in the name of “Canadianization.”

“While based on good intentions, the proposal to rename Wellington Street to Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard is harmful to Canada’s heritage”, said Immanuel Giulea, founder and Executive Director. “Of course, it may seem like a worthy idea to commemorate Macdonald. However, honouring one prominent figure in Canadian history should not come at the cost erasing the history and intent behind the Wellington Street name”, added Jermyn Voon, founding board member.

The Duke of Wellington had a fundamental influence on Ottawa’s future existence, since he was a staunch supporter of the Rideau Canal construction project that eventually led to the founding of Bytown. Indeed, the Duke personally chose the location of the Rideau Canal in 1825. He sent Colonel John By to build it. Colonel By, in turn, personally named Bytown’s first streets “Wellington” and “Rideau” in 1826.

When the renaming of Wellington Street was last considered by Ottawa City Hall in September 2003 and January 2004, councillors decided to leave the section downtown untouched. Indeed, the principal land owner, the National Capital Commission, opposed a name change to this section based on the international recognition that Wellington Street runs between Rideau Street and the Western Parkway.

Furthermore, City staff recognized the significance of Wellington Street as the primary address for the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court of Canada and other significant national monuments and buildings, and as such it was concluded that the section of Wellington Street downtown would remain unchanged. The City’s decision to leave Wellington Street unchanged in 2003 was also based on the fact that it forms part of the well known Parliamentary Precinct and National Capital Commission’s Confederation Boulevard ceremonial route. City council deemed it historically important to retain the name.

Since the launch of this campaign, the Society has received the support of over two dozen prominent Canadians, eminent academics, newspaper editorials, and local politicians have spoken against the renaming of this historic and internationally-recognized street. “We are very pleased to have the support of Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa”, said Mr. Giulea.

The organization also believes there are many other important matters that deserve consideration at City Hall, and there are other ways to commemorate and celebrate the achievements of the leading Fathers of Confederation, Macdonald and Cartier.

The alternative solution advocated by the Society for over one year is to rename Airport Parkway as Macdonald-Cartier Airport Parkway. This option would allow for an important roadway to be renamed. It is also the most logical solution given that the road stretches to Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.

While the efforts of those advocating for the renaming of Wellington Street have been stalled by the campaign and the Society’s efforts, the issue remains unresolved. According to information from City Hall, the Planning Committee is expected to receive a report in September.

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The Société Macdonald-Cartier Society is one of Canada’s most dynamic youth-led non-profit organizations, with the mandate to educate young leaders about Canadian history, heritage and culture; increase their level of civic literacy, and; bring their voices and ideas to the nation’s public policy discourse.

For more information, please visit www.savewellingtonst.ca and to arrange interviews please contact Immanuel Giulea, Founder and Executive Director at immanuel@macdonaldcartier or 514-577-2669

The following story was published on the Ottawa Sun website on May 24 and had already attracted 50+ comments after 24 hours.

In the wake of two naming controversies at City Hall comes the mother of all name-change proposals for an Ottawa street.

The city has been trying to consult with the federal government on an idea to change the name of Wellington St. in front of the Parliament Buildings to a name recognizing John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister.

Coun. Peter Hume, chairman of the planning committee, originally brought the idea to City Hall for Bob Plamondon, a researcher and local consultant who advised Larry O’Brien during the previous term of council.

Approval for the consultation narrowly passed during a committee meeting last July when the issue was widely covered by the media.

It’s been quiet ever since, but a report on the consultation is scheduled to be published in September.

The city has asked the feds if they would agree with renaming Wellington St. either Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd. or Macdonald-Cartier Blvd., which would equally recognize George-Etienne Cartier, another father of Confederation.

The street is currently named after the Duke of Wellington, who’s credited with signing off on the construction of the Rideau Canal.

Hume said Tuesday the city has sent letters to several federal offices but there have been no responses yet.

A spokeswoman for Library and Archives Canada said it just received a letter this week and it’s under consideration, and a spokesman for the National Capital Commission said it’s taking no position since it’s a municipal matter.

It’s pretty much a deal-breaker if the feds don’t like the idea, Hume said.

“I think there’s some merit in the discussion,” Hume said.

Hume is keenly aware of two recent naming proposals, one approved by council to change Robertson Rd. to Lloyd Francis Blvd. and another scrapped motion to name the city archives after former mayor Charlotte Whitton.

Council should use “extreme caution” when it comes to commemorative renaming, Hume said.

…

Heritage Ottawa is against the renaming.

“We’ve been laying low just hoping it would go away,” president David Flemming said.

Flemming said Macdonald is a worthy namesake, but he shouldn’t replace an existing historic street name.

The original story is found here, and emphasis was added.

A few things that are worth noting:

1- This issue of renaming the downtown section of Wellington Street, Ottawa’s oldest street, the seat of Parliament Building, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Library and Archives Canada is appropriately labelled “the mother of all name-change proposals” as this renaming affects all Canadians and stands to compromise the international reputation of the street and as a tourist destination.

2- The story correctly reports that “the federal government” is being consulted without going any further in-depth. We learn LAC and NCC have been sent letters. Hopefully other departments who are seated on the street will also be consulted (Supreme Court and Justice Dept, Parliament, Prime Minister’s Office, etc.)

3- Bob Plamondon is a policy consultant who worked for former Mayor Larry O’Brien and is a friend of Peter Hume. Mr. Plamondon misrepresents himself as an historian but he does not have any academic background in the field of Canadian History nor would he be considered as an expert in this field. He is a Marketing grad and has keenly used this renaming issue to promote his books. A very clever marketing strategy that stands to wreck 185 years of local history.

4- It’s worth reminding that the motion to approve consultations was narrowly approved on an amendment, 4-3 and there was one absent councillor at the meeting of July 5, 2010.

5- The report cites an unnamed spokesman for NCC who would not comment. However, the NCC had made a “formal objection” was the issue of renaming Wellington Street was last visited in 2003-2004 (see previous posts for details).

6- Peter Hume is the chairman of the Planning Committee. It’s a positive development that he now acknowledges that “extreme caution” should be used.

7- Heritage Ottawa, a widely-respected heritage organization, represents well the position of other local heritage organizations who are against the renaming. We want to once again thank all our supporters.

Following this story in the Ottawa Sun, more media coverage should follow.

We wait for the Ottawa Citizen to revisit the story.

Last summer, CTV Ottawa had mentioned this issue once on their website. Metro Ottawa interviewed the Chair of the campaign, Immanuel Giulea. CFRA also covered the story. CBC Ottawa had refused to cover the story.

Stay tuned …

Eleven months ago on June 22, 2010 we had launched the “Save Wellington Street” campaign and this website, along with a twitter account and a facebook page.

We want to thank wholeheartedly everyone who has been supportive of the campaign and our position to advocate in favor of safeguarding the name of Wellington Street downtown Ottawa.

To mark the anniversary and because there’s been much talk about the “Commemorative Naming Policy” lately, we thought we would take a look at the policy’s key points:

1- A commemorative name honours individuals who have: demonstrated excellence, courage or exceptional service to the citizens of the City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario and/or Canada; provided extensive community service; worked to foster equality and reduce discrimination; made a significant financial contribution to a park or facility, and the contribution significantly benefits the community that the park or facility serves or who has historical significant to the community, City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario and/or Canada.

2- Any member of the public or City Council may submit a name to the City for consideration.

3- As part of the process, a preliminary investigation of the commemorative name will be conducted to ensure the name has not been used in the past and that the nomination is meritorious.

4- If the Commemorative Naming Committee approves the application, it will then be subjected to a 60-day public consultation phase to ensure there is community support for the proposal.

5- Following the consultation process, the Commemorative Naming Committee – consisting of applicable departmental City staff, the Mayor or his/her designate and the Ward Councillor – will be reconvened to consider the comments received.

6- If there is majority public support for the proposal – the Committee will make a recommendation to the applicable standing committee and City Council to proceed with the application.

In our opinion, this is how the proposal to rename the downtown section of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill to Sir John A. Macdonald would score against the six criteria above:

- Sir John A. Macdonald was certainly an historic figure, this is not a point of debate. As an organization who owes half of its name to Sir John A., we are not opposed to more commemorations of Macdonald, we are opposed to the flagrant case of historic amnesia that has been witnessed at city hall in the last eleven months (#1).

- Neither Bob Plamondon (the sole proponent of the renaming) nor Councillor Peter Hume (sponsor of the initiative inside city hall) have submitted an application for the name to be considered. For an application to be submitted, an affidavit needs to be signed, etc. (#2)

- If an “preliminary investigation of the commemorative name” was undertaken, it would become obvious very quickly that although the nomination is meritorious, the name of Macdonald is already in use, and has been since the 1870s. Indeed, as pointed out several times across this website, there exists already a MacDonald Street (notwithstanding the spelling mistake) which is located in the proximity of City Hall and also happens to be parallel to Cartier Street (#3).
Macdonald and Cartier were the leading Fathers of Confederation in the years leading to 1867 and they belong together, like twins. Their street being parallel and remaining so makes sense.

- In the worst-case scenario by which the committee would blindly agree to consider the renaming of Ottawa’s oldest street, there would still be a mandatory public consultation for 60-days (#4).

- The current proposal does not have the support of Jim Watson (Mayor) and Diane Holmes (Ward Councillor) is on record for being one of the 4 who voted against the consultations back in July 2010. She was friendly of our case. The departmental City staff would have the third vote on the Commemorative Naming Committee (#5).

- And it does not have majority public support for the proposal (#6).

We hope that the above criteria and our interpretations of the policy were helpful.

If you wish to read the policy yourself or contact the city with question, you should visit the city’s website here. As per the explanation on the city’s website, this policy dates back to July 2002.

If you are curious about how the discussion happened back in 2002, well we retrieved for you the original report prepared and submitted by Kent Kirkpatrick to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee in July 2002.