Renaming ward merits a proper discussion
Goulburn's slave ownership shouldn't be glossed over, says Randy Boswell.
Rideau-Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt deserves credit for recently confronting the historical racism embedded in the name of the municipal ward he represents, as well as the former Goulbourn Township and other namesake streets and landmarks honouring the 19th-century British politician — and slave owner — Henry Goulburn.
But Moffatt failed a crucial test of leadership — not to mention democracy — when he announced unilaterally, prior to any public consultation, that the ward name will be changed before the 2022 municipal election.
The councillor has said that any discussion of the matter would be “a very dangerous conversation to have.”
He should not blur the line between difficult and dangerous. Labelling a discussion too perilous to even initiate is a recipe for self-appointed judges of history, morality and public discourse to make imperial decisions on behalf of the rest of us — including the 25,000 or so residents of Rideau-Goulbourn.
Avoiding a difficult discussion and end-running a proper decision-making process robs the community of an opportunity to learn more about the past. It would also rob residents — including members of the Black community — of the chance to speak their minds.
I'm sure Moffatt's intentions are noble. But his peremptory action may, for example, deprive anti-racism advocates of a forum to connect the Goulbourn naming issue to the current societal debate over systemic racism.
Henry Goulburn's reputation for being “a slave owner with a conscience” — as one biographer has described him — shouldn't stop Moffatt's push to rename the ward. But all citizens of Ottawa would benefit from understanding more about Goulburn's life (including the horrors that took place at his Jamaican sugar plantations) before his name is summarily swept under a rug by the well-meaning councillor.
Organizations such as the Goulbourn Township Historical Society and the Goulbourn Museum have a right to seize upon this teachable moment to deepen residents' knowledge of the past, warts and all.
In fact, two weeks before Moffatt announced his personal discovery of the Henry Goulburn slavery issue in an Oct. 30 podcast, the museum had announced plans for a research project and public forum titled A Transparent Look at Sir Henry Goulburn and Slavery.
“We are looking forward to sharing the results of our research and hosting an in-depth discussion,” the museum said in Oct. 16 social media posts.
There is a question implied in Moffatt's royal proclamation: Can we have respectful conversations about potentially divisive subjects, or is it better to let a benevolent philosopher king make tough decisions for us?
Well, if we can't have civil conversations, then we've stopped being the kind of city and country in which friends and neighbours can disagree, even vehemently, and remain friends and neighbours.
We've lately been witnessing a slide into that kind of society south of the border, and Canadians and Americans alike must resist such crippling polarization.
To be clear: I support Moffatt's plan to change the name of the ward. It also happens to be the name of the street I live on in Sandy Hill, though
Goulburn Avenue (unlike Rideau-Goulbourn) matches the actual spelling of Henry Goulburn's name.
Yes, it would be a pain to change our address. But it would be less painful than living on a street we now know was named for a man who owned slaves at a time when slave-owning was already widely condemned in Britain and beyond.
As with Russell Township, Russell Road and (my employer) Carleton University's Russell House residence — all named for the 19th-century Upper Canada administrator and slave owner Peter Russell — there are good reasons in 21st-century Canada to expunge certain names from our commemorative landscape, and to remove or modify certain monuments to the past.
We also need to find more ways to commemorate worthy figures from Indigenous and other ethnocultural communities that have shaped Canada.
We needed to say goodbye to the Edmonton Eskimos and McGill Redmen, and we need to honour more women and more non-politicians from Canadian history.
But all such changes should occur after diligent research about the word or individual in question, after a thoughtful and civil public discussion, after the careful weighing of local circumstances and sensibilities — and after everyone who wants to has had their say.