Petition Calls on City of Toronto to Stop the Renaming of Dundas Square

A Dundas Street West sign is pictured in Toronto on June 10, 2020. The Canadian Press/Giordano Ciampini

A petition to stop the renaming of Dundas Square in Toronto has garnered about twice as many signatures as a petition that started the city on the name-changing course.

The “Stop the Renaming of Dundas in Toronto“ petition on Change.org had over 26,000 signatures as of Feb. 16, compared to a petition presented to the city in the summer of 2020, which had 14,000 signatures calling for Dundas Street to be renamed, the city website said.

The claim was that Henry Dundas, a Scottish lawyer and politician whom the street was named after, “left behind a controversial legacy,” the city said.

Organizers of the new petition say the Dundas name is more than the man.

“Generations of Torontonians have warm memories about walking on Dundas, going to shows on Dundas, going to dim sum restaurants on Dundas, and so to just arbitrarily rip it away from us, it just really shows the disregard and the insensitivity of our city councilors,” Daniel Tate told The Epoch Times in an interview.

“This decision was an ideological decision,” co-organizer Jonny Pottins said. “This was not done in good faith, and we want people to know that.”

They said they have tried to reach out to councillors about the project, but only received “canned responses.”

“We just want to get people talking about this and pushing back,” Mr. Pottins said. “I don’t think people realize how shady the decision-making process was on this issue.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the city and received an emailed statement about the importance of listening to residents.

“The City of Toronto recognizes the importance of listening to residents and encourages them to submit their concerns and petitions to the City Clerk or a member of Toronto City Council about an item on the agenda of a Committee or City Council meeting,” spokesperson Christy Abraham said in the email.

The decision to change the name of Dundas Street was revamped into a smaller project that saw Dundas Square renamed Sankofa Square, with two subway stations and a library to be renamed as well.

“The concept of Sankofa, originating in Ghana, refers to the act of reflecting on and reclaiming teachings from the past, which enables people to move forward together,” the city previously said.

Mr. Tate said they started the petition because they care about the city.

“We’re passionate about the city’s identity, and civic heritage. There’s a whole confluence of issues that make this whole story.”

Renaming Funding

The city has estimated that the renaming process will cost between $5.1 million and $6.3 million.

These costs include changes to the TTC stations, Dundas streetcar signage, system-wide maps, street and highway directional signs, communications and marketing efforts, signage for the square, and a 15 percent contingency fund.

The city has developed some different funding models for the renaming, according to Ward 13 councillor Chris Moise’s website.

Dundas West subway station and Jane/Dundas Public Library renaming costs, estimated at $600,000 and $60,000 respectively, will be paid by the “associated organizations,” Mr. Moise said.

Toronto Metropolitan University, TTC, and the city will collectively pay $1.6 million for the efforts to rename Dundas Station.

Another $300,000 to $340,000 will come out of “Section 37” funds, something that Mr. Pottins said was a controversial move, saying the funds were not meant for this type of project.

“Here’s a slush fund paid into by developers. Everybody’s got one in the district, but the understanding is we all agree that this is for augmentations and improvements and developments ... things like accessibility, fixing parks, playgrounds, park benches, things like that.”

However, Mr. Moise said on his website that funds have previously been used from Section 37 to pay for work on Dundas Square.