Dundas by any other name would still have problems

London's main street has been Dundas for a long time. Since the beginning, in fact, when Surveyor-General Thomas Ridout instructed Mahlon Burwell to survey the town plot in 1826. 

Now, 200 years later, after a Toronto City Council vote to rename their Dundas Street, there is media speculation as to whether London will do the same. 

All of this is because Henry Dundas, most powerful politician in Scotland in the 18th century, was apparently a creep, even by the standards of his own time, which were pretty low. His contemporaries called him King Harry the Ninth, The Great Tyrant, and The Uncrowned King of Scotland. Given his efforts to delay the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade during the 1790s, it's been decided Dundas needs to be given the old heave-ho anywhere he's commemorated. 

So how do we get rid of his name? While the procedure may alter, according to this article, in London "the process to change a street's name begins with an application at city hall, including a $512 fee. After staff review the request, council can hold a public meeting prior to making a final decision. Unless council decided otherwise, the proponents of the name change would be required to cover all signage costs plus $200 in compensation paid to each property owner whose address is changing." 

New business cards, new flyers, new address labels, new signs above doors, for every business and residence from the Forks of the Thames to the eastern city limits way out at Nissouri Road. Then there's the controversy that would surround the choice of a new street name. This Prof suggests renaming the street after Tony Small, the first known black man to visit the site of London. "Small Street?" 

Once we've set a precedent by renaming one street, how many others will we have to rename? Most of our oldest streets are named after colonial officials, battlefields, generals, royalty, and Dead White Males. Then there's Plantation Road in Oakridge, which a child has convinced the grown-ups should be renamed despite its obvious reference to trees in this context. 

I'm not completely against renaming Dundas, although I think the new name would need to be something generic like "Main Street" - bland and boring but uncontroversial. Some people call it "Bum-das" but that's not official. Personally, I'd rather have a moratorium on renaming Dundas - and other streets - until we solve a few more important problems. Because we all know there are more pressing issues, right? Especially in the downtown core:

1) There's a lack of good quality businesses and attractions to lure visitors. 

2) There's free parking around the suburban shopping malls. 

3) There's a perception that downtown is full of aggressive panhandlers, drug dealers, and mental cases. 

I work at a Dundas business and I'm aware of the problems. Some of the issues are overrated and I'm not afraid to wander around. But folks elsewhere read articles like this one  and get turned off. And until we change the narrative, we're not going to attract more visitors. 

We know what we need to do. Incentivize businesses to move downtown. Provide parking deals. Build affordable housing. Care for the mentally ill. Treat addiction as a medical, not a criminal, problem. 

It won't be easy. But please, City Hall, could you try to fix the present instead of the past? 

Don't change the Ontario flag

According to a London Free Press article, Western University employee Mano Majumdar doesn't like Ontario's flag. He finds it "surreal" and "bizarre" and says “This flag does not represent the distinctiveness of Ontario or Canada. I think we need to have a conversation about decolonization."

For those of you who haven't looked at the provincial flag lately, I've pasted a reminder above.  You'll note the Union Jack along with the shield of the Ontario coat of arms. It was adopted by Ontario's legislature on April 14, 1965, probably to appease Ontarians of British origin after Canada's new Maple Leaf flag replaced the Red Ensign. 

What Mr. Majumdar dislikes, of course, is the presence of the Union Jack, and perhaps the English flag over the three maple leaves. As the article states, "Majumdar sees the flag as a symbol of Ontario and Canada as a colony." 

Gee, living in a city called London with a Thames River must really bother this guy. I feel for him, having to put up with street names like Piccadilly and Pall Mall. Perhaps we should completely "decolonize" and change all our names to ones with more "distinctiveness?" 

But the Ontario flag doesn't mean we're a colony. It's simply a tribute to Ontario's origins. The province was settled by United Empire Loyalists, followed by waves of immigrants from the British Isles. The  Union Jack on the Ontario flag recognizes this simple historical fact. 

Does this flag mean much to newcomers? Probably not. Is that a reason to change it? I don't think so. Would I immigrate to another country and campaign for a change of flag there? Of course not. I wouldn't expect my country of adoption to change its flag to suit newcomers, even if I did find it "surreal." 

I'm well aware that there's hostility to Britain. For some, the word "Britain" seems to by synonymous with "oppression." In fact, I suspect that some people don't want diversity or inclusion so much as they want to tear down what remains of our British connection because they're personally offended by it. Perhaps Mr. Majumdar dislikes the Ontario flag because of its resemblance to the Civil Ensign of British India?

Apparently Mr. Majumdar is now facing a "racist backlash" to his comments. He's "surprised so many people are passionate about this flag." Go figure. Criticize a flag and raise people's passions. Who would've imagined that? Apparently not Mr. M.

Look, I'm not in favour of racism (although many who read this will probably accuse me of it) and Mr. Majumdar has the right to his opinions. But the truth is we can't make our colonial past disappear, and there's no real reason to try. We should commemorate it. And occasionally celebrate it. And preserve it on our provincial flag. 

If you can't tolerate it, I'll help you pack.