By Canadian Press

Petition to rename Dundas Street garners attention amid renewed focus on monuments

Jun 10, 2020 | 1:10 PM

TORONTO — An online petition calling for a Toronto-area street to be renamed has garnered more than 3,000 signatures.

Dundas Street, which runs through Toronto and several other southern Ontario cities, was named after Henry Dundas, an 18th-century politician who delayed Britain’s abolition of slavery by 15 years.

A renewed focus on systemic anti-Black racism following the death of George Floyd has put the issue of monuments to historical figures back in the spotlight.

Protesters in Bristol, England, on Sunday tore down a statue of Edward Colston, a 17th century slave trader, and plunged it into the harbour of the port city.

The petition to rename Dundas Street argues that street names and monuments should “reflect our values and priorities.”

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In Edinburgh, Scotland, there are calls to tear down a statue of Dundas — and the leader of city council there said he would have “absolutely no sense of loss” if the Dundas statue was removed and replaced with something else.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2020.

The Canadian Press