Ryerson Park in Owen Sound had its namebar removed in 2021. (photo by Nathan Shubert/Bayshore Broadcasting News)
Owen Sound is looking at appointing city staff to a working group to rename Ryerson Park.
The Community Services Committee approved appointing members of city staff to the working group during a meeting last week for council approval.
This comes after in 2021 when city staff took the sign down at Ryerson Park in response to a public petition to change the park’s name due to its association with Egerton Ryerson, a 19th century educator whose ideas contributed to the establishment of Canada’s residential school system.
Since the sign was taken down, the park at the bottom of the 8th Street East hill has had no namebar, but is still referenced as Ryerson Park in city documents, as the name has not yet been formally changed.
Last month, city council approved to initiate the renaming process and appointed three councillors to join a working group.
If council approves the city staff members to the working group, it will work to determine the scope of consultation and information required to consider renaming the park, which will eventually lead to a recommendation to council.
If a decision is made to move ahead with the renaming, there will come a process of determining a new name.