New Saskatoon bridge getting Indigenous name

Once completed, Saskatoon's new bridge in the north will have a name reflecting Aboriginal people's history and contributions.

• Saskatoon councillor pushing to name North Commuter Parkway in recognition of TRC report

At Thursday's city council meeting, Coun. Darren Hill brought forward a motion with respect to the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Hill's motion asked the city's administration to report back on how to engage the community as a whole to come up with an appropriate name for the pending North Commuter Parkway.

"I think now with everything that's been happening with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and their calls to action, this seemed like the right time to bring the motion forward to look at naming the bridge in recognition of the work and the calls to action in the TRC," Coun. Hill said.

Last month Coun. Hill passed the motion to rename the Circle Drive South Bridge to Gordie Howe Bridge, following the Hall-of-Famer's death.

• Saskatoon City Council unanimously approves renaming bridge Gordie Howe Bridge
• Gordie Howe's old Saskatoon school pays its respects on day of his funeral

Ward 10 Coun. Zach Jeffries has been a strong supporter of the North Commuter Parkway project and with the new bridge falling within his constituency, he said it's a major step forward in recognizing the work of First Nations in Saskatoon.

"I do think it's important that major pieces of infrastructure that we have in Saskatoon, that we do apply names to them," he said. "These things commemorate people and events in our community that are important and show that we have history in all sorts of things."

Hill added the naming of the north bridge is about inclusiveness with all the different groups who call Saskatoon home.

"It's not just a bridge. We need to look at ensuring we have true representation of our entire community with all of our municipal components, whether they be parks or streets, that we are inclusive with all members of our community," Hill said

Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas spoke in favour of the motion, as did FSINChief Bobby Cameron, Robert Doucette and other members of the First Nation community in Saskatoon.

The North Commuter Parkway Bridge is expected to be completed by October 2018.