Discovery Days numbered? St. John's council first to vote to change name

A motion to refer to Discovery Day as St. John's Day in all official city documents passed by a vote of 5-4 at St. John's City Council Monday.

The motion was made by Councillor Maggie Burton, who has said that the use of the word "discovery" disregards the Indigenous people who predated European arrivals to Newfoundland.

"I'm really happy to see this happen," said Burton

"We all have a duty of getting our shared history right, and that starts with us."

While the city will now call the day St. John's day, the motion calls on the provincial government to change the name of the holiday too.

Councillor Ian Froude and Deputy Mayor SheilaghO'Leary both spoke in support of Burton's motion in council.

However, Mayor Danny Breen did not support the motion, saying that he did not disagree with the premise but thinks the call for a name change should come from community consultation and the province.

"This is obviously an issue that's of provincial responsibility and provincial jurisdiction," said Breen.

He said healso heard from residents who expressed concern over the name change happening without public consultation.

"The comments that mostly I heard is that the city doesn't have a role to play in it," said Breen.

Because the motion passed, Breen says he will follow through and write a letter to the province asking that it considers changing the name of the holiday.

• Critics seek 'Discovery Day' name change, saying it ignores Indigenous presence

Discovery Day is a designated provincialgovernment holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador and falls on the first Monday after June 24, to coincide with the arrival of explorer John Cabot on the island in 1497.

Premier Dwight Ball said in a statement last month that he was open to discussing a change in the name if they were approached by Indigenous organizations to do so.

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