By David Wiwchar

City celebrates John Douglas

Aug 7, 2024 | 7:12 AM

Hundreds of people gathered at the Canal Beach Waterfront Park last night to celebrate John Douglas.

The former Mayor and City Councillor was remembered for being a husband, father, paramedic, chef, and community champion.

Mayor Sharie Minions announced the renaming of the park as the John Douglas Park at tiipis.

“It’s emotional to see the name of the park, but I think it could not be more fitting especially seeing the crowd down here and hearing so many sentiments about how this park came to be,” she said. “I think there’s no question that we would not be here I’m in this beautiful space without John Douglas.”

Minions credited Douglas for inspiring her to get involved in local politics.

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“I would not have run for council without John’s encouragement and certainly without his vision and I don’t think I even would probably live in Port Alberni still had it not been for the early days of John leading this vision forward so I am incredibly grateful for all that John contributed to our community,” she said.

Tseshaht Chief Councillor Ken Watts said he was appreciative of the city including the historical name of the village site that was once there, and credited both Douglas and Minions with helping bridge the gap between municipal and First Nations governments.