Cornwallis Street Photo: Google Maps
During this week’s Bridgewater Town Council meeting a motion to change the street name of Cornwallis Street was approved four to two, with councilors Cheryl Fougere and Wayne Thorburn being those opposed.
Neither Fougere nor Thorburn was opposed to the motion in principle but they both wanted to hold off on the decision until more feedback could be gathered from the community.
Mayor David Mitchell says the other councilors already felt they had the information needed to make a decision. “We know the history of Cornwallis and we know the pain that it causes first nation peoples so based on that majority of councils were ready to move forward,” said Mitchell.
The history Mitchell is alluding to surrounds the street’s namesake Edward Cornwallis the former Governor of Nova Scotia who issued a bounty on Mi’kmaq scalps. His troubled history has seen multiple things previously named in his honour be removed or altered, most notably his statue in Halifax was taken down in 2018.
In addition to the motion that called for a name change, Town Council also passed a motion that will impact how all future streets are named. The second motion that was approved gave the go-ahead for the Heritage Advisory Committee to work in partnership with the town’s anti-racism task force to come up with new policies on how streets are named in Bridgewater.
“I think the policy needs to be updated with the times so that when we look to name a street that is appropriate and respects today’s views on diversity and inclusion,” Mitchell said.
