Poster opposing the proposed renaming of Park Avenue after former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa. November 21, 2006
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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered
Canadian Urbanism Uncovered
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Poster opposing the proposed renaming of Park Avenue after former Quebec premier Robert Bourassa. November 21, 2006
6 comments
cue outrage from newironshapes…
As with the former Dorchester Blvd., I believe that a re-naming of Park/Parc is wrong-headed.
It might be better to name a new road–either local or local rapid–after former Premiers and others.
This would not apply to streets without historical names.
Imagine if Yonge St. in Toronto were re-named to Mike Harris Rd. or Bloor St. were re-named to Don Cherry Rd. You can imagine the uproar.
Why ruin this otherwise nice blog by using it as a platform for Anglo Resistance?
“Anglo Resistance” is a mischaracterization of the widespread – and multilingual – civic resistance Tremblay’s boneheaded idea aroused, if that’s what’s being suggested. The day before the council voted on it I read an editorial in La Presse where the columnist (I forget her name, sorry) really tore into the mayor for the inappropriateness of it. Love of our mountain park and the street named for it knows no language divide. It has nothing to do with anglophone issues.
Dorchester to René Lévesque I can understand as a shaking off of an extremely prominent symbol of former Anglo economic/British imperial domination as well as a way of honouring that uniquely important premier. But what did the park ever do to anyone?
BTW, just remember that predominantly francophone Montréal-Est has retained the name of Rue Dorchester, as well.
“BTW, just remember that predominantly francophone Montréal-Est has retained the name of Rue Dorchester, as well.”
Ah, I’d forgotten. They didn’t like René or something? But do they pronounce it Dorkestay?
Kidding, but as a francophone friend once remarked to me about Rue Guy – “the man’s name was Guy!”(as in rhymes with “buy”, not “bee”.) Personally, I think names should be pronounced as they are in their language of origin – if it’s French, pronounce it correctly au français; if English, as in English; if German, wie auf Deutsch, etc. (I was born in Germany.) Europeans seem to manage (though the British seem to go out of their way to mispronounce everything.)