Should Place des Festivals be renamed in honour of Oscar Peterson?

After an attempt to name a Metro station in his honour failed earlier this year, aMontrealopposition party is calling for Place des Festivalsto be named for the late, great jazz pianistOscar Peterson.

Ensemble Montralsubmitted a motion at Monday's council meeting calling for the Place des Festivals to be renamed Place Oscar Peterson.

This summer, a petitionin favour ofrenamingLionel-Groulxstationafter Peterson gathered 26,000 signatures, but the city and its transit agency, the STM, said that was unlikely.

An STM spokesperson said this summer the agency has had a moratorium on name changes since 2006, and thatstations are typically named after the streets they exit onto or nearby landmarks.

The debate on how best to honour Peterson's legacy has been ongoing since his death in 2007. A grassroots initiativewas launched a year laterto rename the station, which is nearLittle Burgundy, where hegrew up.

An article publishedin the The New York Times in August brought international attention to the issue. It also highlighted the mixed legacy of Groulx,a Roman Catholic priest who defended francophone rights, andheld anti-Semitic views.

'I felt like it would be an easy win'

Naveed Hussain, who started the petition this summer, met with Ensemble Montral a fewmonths agoabout finding another place to name after Peterson. They came up with Place des Festivals.

"I just felt like there was a synergy because Oscar Peterson was a great jazz man. He played at the International Jazz Festival many times throughout his career," Hussain said.

"I felt like it would work and be an easy win."

Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante said Monday she wouldn't take a stance on the renaming of Place des Festivals, adding she would want Peterson's family to be consulted on the matter.

Ensemble Montral said it asked Peterson's widow, Kelly Peterson, what she thought and that she said the musician would have been extremely touched by the gesture.

Lionel Perez, the leader of the party, said Peterson deserves his place on the city mapas a thank-you for the prestige he brought to the city and its Black community.

Peterson made over 200 recordings over the course of his career and won numerous awards, including eight Grammy awards.

Ensemble Montral points out that Place des Festivals, inaugurated in 2009 in the Quartier desSpectacles, is at the heart of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

In 1990, the festival created an annual Oscar Peterson prizeto recognize artists and their contribution to Canadian jazz.

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