Public consultation sessions in each Powell River Regional District electoral area have taken place or been scheduled as the local government tries to gain an understanding of how the public feels about its proposed name change to qathet Regional District.
Board chair Patrick Brabazon said that in addition to the open house sessions, he is asking City of Powell River and first nations in the region for support.
Brabazon appeared before city council with regional district chief administrative officer Al Radke and manager of administrative services Brenda Paquin as a delegation at council’s meeting on September 7.
Brabazon briefly explained the rationale for changing the local government’s name to qathet Regional District.
"Confronted with a problem over our name, the obvious solution is to change the name, but this solution carried with it an opportunity,” said Brabazon.
Brabazon told council the regional district’s name is often confused with the city’s.
He added that in his ongoing conversations with Tla’amin Nation hegus Clint Williams they have talked about the future and roles of the local government.
Brabazon also asked if Tla'amin could offer a name to help solve the problem.
“It quickly became apparent that there is no Tla’amin word that encompasses the entire regional district," said Brabazon. “The elders offered us the name qathet. It didn't meet any one geographic requirement, but it sure met the spirit of what we were trying to do.”
The traditional Tla’amin word means “people working together.”
Councillor Maggie Hathaway asked several questions about the name change, including why the regional district did not consider Tiys’kwat, a familiar name for the area.
Brabazon said that name only refers to the area around the Catalyst Paper Corporation’s mill site and does not describe the region that stretches between Toba and Jervis inlets and halfway out into the Strait of Georgia.
“That would be no improvement,” said Brabazon.
Councillor Karen Skadsheim said that while she likes the name, she has heard from others with do not for various reasons, such as worries over lost mail.
“The concerns are all a bit fear-based and can be easily overcome,” said Skadsheim.
Once discussion wrapped up, council supported a motion to provide support for the name change.
In October, the regional board will decide if it will send the public feedback to Victoria and request the name change.
After the meeting, Electoral Area B alternate director Al Rebane said he is still against the name change.
“If the city council thinks it's so great, then they should change their name and leave the regional district’s alone,” said Rebane.
Regional district staff held the first of four open house meetings on September 6, at Powell River Recreation Complex.
Attendance from the public was low with regional district and city representatives outnumbering the public.
Rebane said he was not surprised so few people showed up and that it was not necessarily an indication of support.
“People are afraid to speak against this or talk about it,” said Rebane. “I'm not enthused about the name. I don't know why we can't have a choice.”
City resident Courtney Harrop, who works as an early childhood educator at Tishosem, attended the first session and said she was surprised such a small number of residents showed up.
Harrop said few people can appreciate the importance of having an indigenous elder gift a traditional name. She added that it signifies Tla'amin people are opening the door to moving forward with settlers to the area.
“It is such an honour to have bestowed on one person, let alone an entire area," said Harrop. "They have gifted that name to all of us.”
