Halifax won’t ditch founder’s name

But city engaged in a dialogue about Cornwallis

• A Halifax councillor says a discussion about Edward Cornwallis is “inevitable,” despite a vote rejecting his proposal for a review of public sites named for the city’s controversial founder.

Council rejected Coun. Waye Mason’s notice of motion, seeking a debate on updating municipal landmarks bearing Cornwallis’s name, in an 8-7 vote Tuesday. Mason told reporters he was disappointed, but said the city is already engaged in a difficult conversation about its founder.

“We’re going to continue to have that discussion, we just haven’t decided to have it at this point,” he said.

Mason said the motion could cost him his district in Halifax’s fall election, but he can sleep well knowing he was morally justified in bringing the concerns forward.

The Mi’kmaq Native Friendship Centre and mostly black Cornwallis Street Baptist Church had petitioned council to rename Cornwallis Street, partly inspiring Tuesday’s motion.

The Mi’kmaq have long called for removal of tributes to Cornwallis, some calling his actions against their ancestors a “genocide.”

Cornwallis founded Halifax in 1749 and soon after issued a bounty on the scalps of Mi’kmaq men, women and children, in response to an attack on colonists.

Mason proposed convening a panel of experts that would advise council of possible changes to Cornwallis commemorations, also including a park and statue.

The councillor took issue with language in a Canadian Press story suggesting he wanted to “scrub” the city of Cornwallis’s name, saying the consequences of such a panel have yet to be determined.

During the council debate, some members — including Mayor Mike Savage — said they fielded angry phone calls from citizens who want to preserve the city’s heritage.

The mayor urged councillors to not delay the discussion. “Maybe it’s time that we try to figure out a way that we can all discuss a difficult issue and there may be a resolution,” Savage said. “This doesn’t make a case (for) who is empathetic or not empathetic to a certain cause. I think we’re all trying to do the right thing.”

Some councillors raised concerns about reopening old wounds, angering citizens and denigrating Halifax’s history. “He’s the founder of Halifax … and we’re just going to whitewash it all?” Coun. Linda Mosher asked. “Everybody’s got their own opinion, and I think the truth is somewhere in between. So let’s get the truth, but let’s not erase it.” Coun. Jennifer Watts said the tide of anti-Cornwallis sentiment is already bringing changes to her district. Halifax Regional School Board voted unanimously to rename Cornwallis Junior High in 2011.

The debate has resonated across Nova Scotia, of which Cornwallis was once governor. Last year, Premier Stephen McNeil had signs for the Cornwallis River removed out of sensitivity for the nearby Annapolis Valley First Nation