I have fond memories of growing up in Grandin Park. I’m proud to say I’m from St. Albert.
I first learned to skate on a frozen slough that was right beside Grandin Road. I played hockey and spent many hours at the (then) two Grandin Rinks, right beside the hill where we would toboggan. I know people who went to Vital Grandin School.
Vital-Justin Grandin was bishop of the diocese of St. Albert from 1871 to 1902. According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Page 159, Bishop Grandin proposed the government “make a trial of letting us have children of five years old and leaving them in our orphan asylums and industrial schools until the time of their marriage or the age of 21 years.” In other words, Grandin promoted the assimilation of native peoples in a most insidious and cruel way: He proposed the government give their children to his church, which it did.
In light of the horrific discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, it is time to confront and acknowledge our past in a real way. It is time to act.
It is time St. Albert followed the example of other communities that have acted in the spirit of reconciliation and have removed the names of the enablers of residential schools. It is time to remove the name “Grandin” from all place names in St. Albert. It is the least we can do.
My past won’t be diminished if we remove the name of someone who brought such incredible anguish, misery, and death to generations of families. Quite the contrary. Perhaps, in some small way, we will improve our collective future.
Greg Miller, Calgary
