The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) Board of Directors has asked the provincial government for a one-year extension on decisions to rename some geographical areas and locations in she shashishalhem, the language of the shíshálh Nation.
After much discussion at the Dec. 10 board meeting about the wording of the recommendation, directors restated their commitment to support the name changes, but noted the difficulty of meaningful community consultation due to public-meeting restrictions caused by COVID-19.
“I believe we are supporting reconciliation and dialogue and supporting the desires of the shíshálh to have traditional names returned to Pender Harbour,” said Area A director Leonard Lee. “I would like to see more traditional names in Pender Harbour. The way they got their names was not the way they should have to start with. Now we’ve got a chance to look at it as a greater group and try and get it right.”
The SCRD was to have sent its recommendations to the B.C. Geographical Names Office by the end of this month, but meetings with the community in Madeira Park and elsewhere, to be hosted by the provincial government, have yet to take place.
Gibsons Mayor Bill Beamish initiated debate on the wording of the request, saying he was not comfortable with Part C, which said that “geographical feature(s) and location(s) other than Madeira Park be identified and considered for renaming at this time.”
Said Beamish, “We shouldn’t be second-guessing the name changes put forward by our First Nations partners.” He said he would not endorse “a recommendation that would not support the name change of Madeira Park,” which he felt was implied by the wording in the request.
As part of the name-change process, the shíshálh have requested Madeira Park be renamed salalus.
Shíshálh Nation chief and board director Warren Paull said he was open to more dialogue. “Admittedly, previous dialogues [in Madeira Park] have not gone quite as forecast. Then again, we haven’t had the opportunity to have all that many with the local people in that area and I welcome it,” said Paull. “Given all the other things we’ve had to put up with this year it did not get to the top of the pile. I would support a request for an extension to do the necessary dialogue.”
The board unanimously carried an amended motion that struck the phrase “at this time” from Part C of its comments to the B.C. Geographical Names Office. The amendment added a Part D: “[T]hat a further extension to Dec. 31, 2021, be requested at this time in order to provide additional time for community dialogue on the renaming of Madeira Park and for the province to host a town hall as previously requested.”
