On September 15, 2020, The StarPhoenix published a letter to the editor by Ashu M. G. Solo calling for renaming John A. Macdonald Road in Saskatoon:
On September 19, 2020, Ashu M. G. Solo sent the emails below to Saskatoon City Council and they were ignored. Ashu M. G. Solo put up this Facebook page with the emails:
https://www.facebook.com/Rename-John-A-Macdonald-Road-in-Saskatoon-106375821222219
On September 23, 2020, Ashu M. G. Solo asked the Saskatoon City Clerk's Office to include a letter by him about renaming John A. Macdonald Road on the agenda of Saskatoon City Council. This wasn't done before the election.
On March 10, 2021, Ashu M. G. Solo asked the Saskatoon City Clerk's Office again to include a letter by him about renaming John A. Macdonald Road on the agenda of Saskatoon City Council. Instead it was referred to the City of Saskatoon Naming Committee.
On June 3, 2021, the Naming Committee met and decided to wait to hear from local stakeholders and get a report from the city administration on renaming streets named after John A. Macdonald and David Macpherson.
On June 9, 2021, the Saskatoon Tribal Council chief, Mark Arcand, called for John A. Macdonald Road to be renamed.
On June 10, 2021, the Saskatoon mayor, Charlie Clark, finally agreed that John A. Macdonald Road should be renamed:
On June 21, 2021, Saskatoon city councillor David Kirton presented a motion for John A. Macdonald Road to be renamed at a Governance and Priorities Committee meeting and the city councillors unanimously voted in favor of that:
On June 28, 2021, Saskatoon City Coucnil approved the motion to rename John A. Macdonald Road:
https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/saskatoons-john-a-macdonald-road-to-be-renamed
These are emails sent by Ashu M. G. Solo to Saskatoon City Council:
Date: Sat, Sep 19, 2020 at 6:57 AM
Subject: Rename John A. Macdonald Road in Saskatoon
To: <mayors.office@saskatoon.ca>, <charlie.clark@saskatoon.ca>, <darren.hill@saskatoon.ca>, <hilary.gough@saskatoon.ca>, <ann.iwanchuk@saskatoon.ca>, <troy.davies@saskatoon.ca>, <randy.donauer@saskatoon.ca>, <cynthia.block@saskatoon.ca>, <mairin.loewen@saskatoon.ca>, <sarina.gersher@saskatoon.ca>, <bev.dubois@saskatoon.ca>, <zach.jeffries@saskatoon.ca>
Saskatoon City Council:
I want to draw your attention to this StarPhoenix letter to the editor by me calling for John A. Macdonald Road in Saskatoon to be renamed:
https://thestarphoenix.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor-sept-15-2020/wcm/a7ad13dd-8437-4f15-8f32-214a2ff7bd64/
This is a long street in an area of Saskatoon with a large indigenous population. It’s shameful that the City of Saskatoon hasn’t renamed this street already.
Also, I never heard from Charlie Clark on whether he is accepting my challenge in a StarPhoenix letter to the editor to make a public statement that he doesn’t want to be called “your worship” or “his worship”:
https://thestarphoenix.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor-july-30-2020
I have frequently heard people calling Clark this at City Council meetings without any objection from Clark. If Clark has any humility at all, he should be ashamed to let people call him that without objecting.
Ashu M. G. Solo
From: Ashu M. G. Solo
Date: Sat, Sep 19, 2020 at 11:51 PM
Subject: Re: Rename John A. Macdonald Road in Saskatoon
To: <mayors.office@saskatoon.ca>, <charlie.clark@saskatoon.ca>, <darren.hill@saskatoon.ca>, <hilary.gough@saskatoon.ca>, <ann.iwanchuk@saskatoon.ca>, <troy.davies@saskatoon.ca>, <randy.donauer@saskatoon.ca>, <cynthia.block@saskatoon.ca>, <mairin.loewen@saskatoon.ca>, <sarina.gersher@saskatoon.ca>, <bev.dubois@saskatoon.ca>, <zach.jeffries@saskatoon.ca>
Saskatoon City Council:
What if you or a family member or relative was a survivor of a residential school and had to walk by, drive by, or live on a street named in honor of the creator of the residential school system? Show some empathy, compassion, and humanity and name John A. Macdonald Road after someone with honor and integrity.
Ashu M. G. Solo
On page 21 of this Saskatoon City Council agenda, you can see a letter by Ashu M. G. Solo on renaming John A. Macdonald Road. This letter was originally submitted on September 23, 2020, resubmitted on March 10, 2021, and resubmitted on June 28, 2021. The City Clerk's Office said it was going to be put in the agenda of the Naming Committee in the fall, but then the process accelerated when city councillor David Kirton made a motion on renaming John A. Macdonald Road.
