Some Toronto residents push back against parkette being renamed after anti-gun violence advocate

CBC

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Some residents of a tiny enclave bordering Toronto's newly redeveloped Regent Park neighbourhood are calling on the city to revisit a council decision to rename a parkette after a well-known local anti-gun violence advocate.
Last week, councillors led by Chris Moise (Toronto Centre) voted to rename the tiny Sumach-Shuter Parkette after Louis March, who died last July.
In a motion, Moise wrote that the park should be named after March because "Regent Park was one of the neighbourhoods where Louis did some of his most impactful work, and [it] would recognize his deep commitment to ending gun violence and supporting the most vulnerable communities in Toronto."
The parkette sits in a corner of tiny Trefann Court, adjacent to the newly revitalized Regent Park. Locals there agree March made a huge impact on young people in the area and across Toronto. Their argument, they emphasize, is with the process, not March's legacy.
"It was a surprise," said Bill Eadie, a 42-year Trefann Court resident. "What I think people are offended by is that there was no consultation."
CBC Toronto reviewed 28 emails city staff received prior to the vote, from people who wanted to express their views about the name change. Twenty-two were in favour; six were against it.
"Louis was not the type of man who needed accolades or praise, he truly loved Toronto and was
committed to making it a city we could all feel safe in and be proud to call home," wrote one woman. "Naming a City of Toronto park after Louis March would ensure that his life's work was not in vain. It would guarantee that his name will live on for future generations."
The tiny parkette runs east from Sumach Avenue on the south side of Shuter Street. It has just been upgraded, and is scheduled to re-open next month.
Neighbours told CBC Toronto the parkette is a vital meeting spot for residents, and they should have been asked for their input on its future."It's really our only greenspace," 20-year resident Lynn Lawson said. "I didn't really get to know people until I started going to the park. Now I know everyone."
'Nobody knew'
Carol Silverstone, who's lived in the neighbourhood for 64 years, found it upsetting that the parkette was being renamed.
"Nobody knew this was happening," she said.
Eadie and other residents who spoke with CBC Toronto say they're proud of their tiny community, an area of a few square blocks that begins on the south side of Shuter Street, east of Parliament, directly across from the new Regent Park.
In the 1960s, city staff wanted to take over Trefann Court and build public housing on the land, including it as part of Regent Park public housing development. But residents organized against the move and won.
It was around this time, city records show, that Trefann Court was recognized as a "redevelopment area", unique from Regent Park.
Eadie and other residents say they'd like to see the renaming debate re-opened at Toronto and East York Community Council.
Moise insists the public had ample opportunity to voice their opinions before his motion came up last week at council.
Moise insists everyone in the city — including those in Trefann Court — had an opportunity to comment on the issue. He also points to an online petition that garnered the names of 800 supporters across the city in a few months, including 80 people he described as locals.
"The issue is closed," he told CBC Toronto. "It went through council."
Moise said its irrelevant where March was from in the city.
"Louis March founded the Zero Gun Violence Movement, believing that everyone deserved to live in a safe, supportive and opportunity-rich environment regardless of their postal code," his motion reads. "His sudden passing on July 20, 2024, was a profound loss for the city, but his vision continues to guide efforts towards peace and justice."
One of the locals weighing in on the issue is Walied Khogali Ali, co-chair of the Regent Park Residents Association, who knew March personally.
Khogali Ali said he agrees with the residents' complaints.
"(March) was a real champion for community voices, and I think this process unfortunately did not include community voices," Khogali Ali said.
Eadie says that if Moise had brought the proposal to rename the park through the Toronto and East York Community Council, more Trefann Court residents would have had an opportunity to voice their concerns about renaming Sumach-Shuter Parkette.
Although that's traditionally how public spaces like parks are named, Moise said that route is not mandatory.
He pointed to last year's renaming of Tiverton Parkette, in the Dundas-Loigan area. That motion went straight to council after hundreds signed a petition in support of a proposal to name it after Caroline Huebner-Makarat, a woman killed by a stray bullet while walking in Leslieville.