WHAT'S IN A NAME: Streets and Monuments Global Reclamation

Rename GTA streets and monuments that honour perpetrators of colonization, oppression, racism and slavery.

In the wake of weeks of protests against police violence and racial injustice, Toronto City Council can take a symbolic step toward acknowledging and disavowing our historic associations with persons who have actively worked to establish and preserve systems of racial inequality and exploitation.
 
As such, we ask that Toronto City Council begin a public process to replace street names and monuments in the GTA that commemorate events and perpetrators of oppression, racism and violence, with names that honour events and admirable people from both sides of history.

This process should be transparent and undertaken in partnership with Human Rights, Indigenous, Black-led, LGBTQ organizations and historical societies in order to include meaningful and representative new names.
 
If we truly wish for our city streets and monuments to reflect our values and priorities, we must tear down those names which have been offensive and hurtful to minorities, indigenous people, black people and people of colour, and have never been worthy of our honour or respect.

Street names and monuments change frequently and the time for change is NOW.

The discarded street names and commemorative monuments should be put to rest in historical graveyards and fully cataloged to avoid retrieval and re-sale to “private collectors”.