Latest news with #streetnamechange
National Post
10 hours ago
- General
- National Post
Jamie Sarkonak: Vancouver renaming street 'šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm' puts people at risk
The City of Vancouver describes its new name for Trutch Street, 'šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street,' as a gift, but it's more like a curse. Article content On Tuesday, city council unanimously voted for the change, condemning 100 or so residents to a lifetime of addressarial grief. Joining them in suffering will be countless drivers who make their way down the route, delivering, visiting and otherwise trying to get from A to B. Article content Article content The new name means 'Musqueamview' in Musqueam, but the city itself admits that nobody is likely to be able to read it in its letter-salad form: 'With no fluent speakers left, this street name is a landmark moment for hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ revitalization,' notes a webpage about the change. (That word beginning in 'h' refers to the Musqueam's traditional language.) It will replace the name of Joseph Trutch (1826-1904), B.C.'s first Lieutenant Governor who, among other things, reduced the sizes of Indigenous reserves and denied the existence of some earlier treaties. Article content Article content That remark by the city contained an important admission: the purpose of changing the name of pronounceable Trutch Street into something indecipherable at 40 km/h is political. The goal is to involve the local population in a moral exercise at the cost of their comfort and safety. Indeed, not even the Musqueam (who insisted on this visual obstacle course, according to Deputy City Manager Armin Amrolia) are going to be capable of reading it. Beyond signalling solidarity against colonialism, impeding the passage of Vancouverites and offending the local Squamish Nation, it's a functionally useless sign. Article content Article content Emergency services have already expressed their concerns that the new name will get in the way of saving lives, largely because 911 callers might not be able to pronounce the name. Most people haven't learned linguistics to the point where they can pronounce Indigenous mainstays like the theta symbol, the tiny W, the 7 and the triangle. 'Help, I'm at Sixwomkeymasem Street' is the most we can reasonably expect from people. Article content Article content To address these concerns, the city has suggested a second set of unofficial signs that read 'Musqueamview St.' (though it's unclear whether that solution has been finalized). Emergency mapping systems will use the unofficial English name, but it won't appear in the bylaw, which will use the official name instead. Licenses will have to be redone, as will insurance and registration slips. Then, there are land titles, bank addresses, credit cards, etc. Article content Anyone sending or receiving mail by Canada Post is asked to write both official and unofficial street names if possible, but to use English if only one line is available (work is being done to accept these new letters, but 'most non-English lettering is not currently recognized' our letter service told me in an email this week). Other internal and external address and map systems — such as transit or B.C.'s insurance corporation — might be unable to digest these characters.
The National
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Tehran to scrap street name honouring assassin of Egyptian president Sadat
Iran 's capital has announced plans to scrap a street name that honoured one of the killers of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, a symbolic bone of contention in ties with Cairo since the assassination more than four decades ago. Khaled El Islambouli Street in the north of Tehran was named after the military officer who led an operation to take out Mr Sadat during a military parade in Cairo in October 1981. The naming has long been seen by Egypt as deliberate provocation and has contributed to decades of diplomatic hostility. Tehran regarded Mr Sadat as a traitor for signing Egypt's peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Renaming the street signals a thaw in 45 years of strained ties between the two regional powers – one of the Middle East's longest-standing rifts. The decision was announced by Tehran's city council, with a spokesman confirmed committee talks were under way to replace El Islambouli's name with another after co-ordination with Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The change comes as part of a routine review of street names in Tehran, the spokesman told Iran's Tasnim News Agency. Iranian media reported that late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by an Israeli air strike on Beirut in September, has been floated as a potential replacement name. Mr El Islambouli, a lieutenant in the Egyptian military, was executed in 1982 over his role in Mr Sadat's assassination. The killing of the president was motivated by his signing of the Camp David Accords, the first peace treaty between an Arab state and Israel, which many in the Arab and Islamic world viewed as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. After the assassination Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's supreme leader at the time, hailed Mr El Islambouli as a martyr and called on Egyptians to rise up against what he described as Mr Sadat's capitulation to Israel and the US. Tehran subsequently named the street after Mr El Islambouli and erected murals in his honour, souring relations with Cairo. The decision to rename the road follows a visit to Cairo last week by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi. The talks, described as 'fruitful' by both sides, constituted a significant step towards healing a regional divide that dates back to the aftermath of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Mr Araghchi said in a speech in Cairo that diplomacy between Iran and Egypt had entered 'a new phase'. Egyptian officials have long regarded the street name as a major obstacle to harmonious ties, seeing it as an affront to Mr Sadat's legacy and a reminder of Iran's revolutionary-era hostility. For Iran, the renaming could represent a pragmatic shift in attitude towards its neighbours. By addressing Egypt's prolonged grievance, Tehran may be signalling a willingness to move beyond ideological rigidity and focus on co-operation. The gesture aligns with broader attempts by Iran to repair its image and reduce tension. It comes amid shifting regional dynamics, as Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE also begin engaging with Iran. 'There is a great deal of political will to boost bilateral relations and remove any obstacles that might stand in the way,' Mr Araghchi said after his meeting with Mr El Sisi.
