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Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
A party to celebrate a mistake
This week a breathless announcement arrived in my inbox. 'Toronto is set to celebrate a historic cultural milestone,' it said. On Aug. 23, the city would hold its very first official 'Sankofa Day.' What's that, you say? You may well ask. Sankofa Square is the obscure new name for Yonge-Dundas Square, the one-acre public space at the corner of Yonge and Dundas streets, right across from the Eaton Centre. Sankofa Day, its organizers tell us, is another name for the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. In 2021, the city government decided to erase the name Dundas from the square bearing his name. It was a time when statues were being toppled and historical figures cancelled in the name of social justice. Henry Dundas was a leading British statesman of the Georgian era. His critics say he was responsible for delaying the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. His defenders say he was a sincere opponent of slavery who orchestrated a tactical delay in parliament to pave the way for eventual abolition. City councillors brushed aside these complexities and voted to rename the square, though not the street (which would be too expensive). Various new names were kicked around. One suggestion was Lightfoot Square, after the iconic singer who played many times at Massey Hall around the corner. But, no, that would have been too easy. Instead, the city struck a committee: the Recognition Review Community Advisory Committee, in fact. After what the group that runs the square calls 'two years of careful work,' it announced its choice. Yonge-Dundas Square would become Sankofa Square. Toronto's shameful renaming debacles Torontonians were understandably bewildered. They still are. What or who is Sankofa? The square's website explains that 'Sankofa (SAHN-koh-fah) is a Twi word from the Akan Tribe of Ghana that loosely translates to, 'go back and get it.'' The phrase 'encourages learning from the past to inform the future.' A-ha. Not surprisingly, the name has failed to catch on. Does anybody ever say, 'Meet you at Sankofa Square?' The name has no connection to Toronto or its history. Worse, after the name came out, critics pointed out that the Akan people themselves once kept and traded slaves. Awkward. Unembarrassed and undeterred, the folks who run the square are throwing a big party to get Torontonians onside. If you don't like (or for that matter even know) the name, well, they are going to make you like it. The website invites visitors to come 'experience Canada's first major public Sankofa Day celebration!' – a free, all-day event featuring Caribbean film screenings, music performances, public-art installations, Indigenous and African ancestral ceremonies, DJ sets and a community run. The event will also include a 'brand reveal' of the square's new visual identity. If all this is a bit too much for you, sorry, there is more. Toronto is not finished with its renaming follies. Dundas subway station, just below the square, is to be renamed TMU station. Nearby Toronto Metropolitan University is paying the Toronto Transit Commission for the rights, shelling out a reported $1.6-million. So now the downtown stations on the Yonge Street line will be called Bloor, Wellesley, College, TMU, Queen and King – all but one named after the corresponding cross street. What is 'downtown,' anyway TMU itself has been part of the rename game. It used to be Ryerson University, after the 19th-century Methodist minister who helped establish a system of free, mandatory schooling in what is now the province of Ontario. It dropped his name after campaigners claimed his writings helped pave the way for the establishment of the residential schools where many Indigenous children suffered and died. But there is another side of his story, as there was with that of Henry Dundas. Ryerson's defenders say he was a liberal educator who lived among the Ojibwa people and learned to speak their language. None of that counted for much in the feverish atmosphere of recent times. Ryerson's statue was decapitated and his name expunged. TMU, at least, has the merit of being a logical name. It is, in fact, a Toronto metropolitan university, with its campus in the heart of downtown. Sankofa? Well, that is something else. Inviting the whole city to a party won't persuade anyone this was a good idea.
Toronto Star
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
I grew up proud of my name. Here's why I don't mind Dundas Station being renamed
I have a coaster on my desk, a square depicting acid yellow subway tiles with the word Dundas across the middle in black Helvetica print. The Toronto subway station it refers to was originally named to pay homage to Sir Henry Dundas, a powerful British politician during the colonial era. These brash, bright tiles were installed in 1982, replacing the old yellow vitrolite tiles that had been on the walls of Toronto's eponymous Dundas Street subway station for decades. That very public name has, however, also been part of my identity all my life, both as a point of pride ('are you related?') and derision (my surname begged for teasing as a child). But it was never a reason for shame. Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
Toronto Star
06-07-2025
- General
- Toronto Star
Deborah Dundas: I grew up proud of my name. Here's why I don't mind Dundas Station being renamed
I have a coaster on my desk, a square depicting acid yellow subway tiles with the word Dundas across the middle in black Helvetica print. The Toronto subway station it refers to was originally named to pay homage to Sir Henry Dundas, a powerful British politician during the colonial era. These brash, bright tiles were installed in 1982, replacing the old yellow vitrolite tiles that had been on the walls of Toronto's eponymous Dundas Street subway station for decades. That very public name has, however, also been part of my identity all my life, both as a point of pride ('are you related?') and derision (my surname begged for teasing as a child). But it was never a reason for shame.
Toronto Star
15-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
The TTC's Dundas Station to be called TMU Station after board approves name change
The new TMU Station name was approved as part of a proposed partnership between the TTC and TMU. The cost of renaming the downtown station, previously pegged at $1.6 million, will be covered by the university and remove from the station the name of Henry Dundas — a Scottish parliamentarian implicated in Britain's slave trade to the Caribbean.
Toronto Sun
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
VUONG: Toronto has greater priorities than a woke name change
What deal is the TTC inking with TMU and why is it being hidden from Torontonians? The TTC subway at Dundas Station in Toronto, Thursday February 2, 2023. Photo by Peter J. Thompson / Postmedia There is no better indication of a government's true priorities than its budget and how it spends its money. Secondary to that are the issues it chooses to spend its time on. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account This is why the agenda for the Toronto city council board for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is so concerning. You'd think the TTC Board has already created the world's greatest transit system, that our city's public transit must be so great, so reliable, and so safe, that they can focus on superfluous matters like changing the name of Dundas Station. Let us remember that this erasure of slavery abolitionist Henry Dundas is the result of a historically illiterate misinterpretation of his legacy. To Dundas' great misfortune, he has become a priority target of some keyboard historians of the woke variety, and, unfortunately, they are on a revisionist mission to denigrate the man. They accuse him of being an enabler of slavery despite the fact that it was Dundas who appointed John Graves Simcoe as Lieutenant Governor of then Upper Canada, who spearheaded legislation fighting slavery; and is the reason Canadians today can proudly claim credit as the first jurisdiction in the British Empire to pass the legislation to limit slavery in the British Empire. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Fast forward to the present. What legacy can this TTC Board lay claim to other than radical and ideologically-driven excess? After all, there is an opportunity cost to everything that we do. The time they waste deliberating this unnecessary subway station name change is time they won't spend discussing issues that actually impact riders, like commute time. Just months ago, a report from commuter app Moovit found that our city has one of the worst commutes in North America with Toronto clocking in at an average of 55 minutes to take transit through the city. It was further estimated that over the course of a Torontonian's lifetime we will spend nineteen months of our life on transit. Now, the TTC Board will tell you it's not costing taxpayers anything because Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) will cover the cost of the name change, but that's not true. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. How much TTC staff time has been squandered on this woke fool's errand? Time for legal to draft the confidential agreement that taxpayers won't see, time for the marketing department to plan a new name communications plan, and, of course, the time completely wasted by staff to support this wasteful name change in the first place. There are real costs associated with this change, including salary time, and, again, it's time not spent on improving our transit system. Read More And while we're on the topic of the confidential agreement to rename Dundas Station to 'TMU Station,' what are we, the Toronto taxpayer, getting out of it? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Naming rights cost money. In the U.S., this tactic is used to net transit agencies some big dollars that they reinvest to improve service. For example, UC San Diego signed a 30-year deal with the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System to name a streetcar line after the university for US$30 million in 2015, which is $41.7 million at current exchange rates. How many buses could that purchase? How many more special constables could we deploy to keep riders safe? If you head north to Silicon Valley, the owners of Caltrain have been selling station naming rights for close to $1 million (C$1.3 million) to as much as $4.5 million ($6.2 million) annually, which begs the question: What deal is the TTC inking with TMU and why is it being hidden from Torontonians? Is TMU getting a sweetheart deal from the City? In the absence of facts, we have no choice but to speculate. The TTC Board is mandated to 'serve the people of Toronto by ensuring your transit system is reliable, safe, and prepared for the future.' They should explain how renaming a station helps to advance their mandate, and why it is of a greater priority than the reliability, safety, and preparedness of our transit system. — Kevin Vuong is a proud Torontonian, entrepreneur, and military reserve officer. He was the former Member of Parliament for Toronto's Spadina-Fort York community. Celebrity Columnists Sunshine Girls NHL Editorials
