Last week, the PEI legislature unanimously adopted a proposal calling on the federal government to change the name of the Epekwitk Crossing Confederation bridge.
But that name and the debate over it are nothing new. In fact, it was the preferred choice of a group led by former island prime minister Alex Campbell, who in 1996 selected him from a list of three names derived from thousands of applications from across Canada.
“Scope of green gables, Spud Highway, Abegwight, Confederate Bridge, fixed link – there [were] many names for him, “said Raymond Sewell, a professor of English at St. Mary’s University.
In 2014, Sewell presented his master’s thesis on the history of the bridge, its name and its significance for the identity of Canada and the island.
Sewell, a Mi’kmaw man from the First Pabino Nation in New Brunswick, said he chose the subject because he has always been interested in how names and symbols shape the way indigenous people, islanders and Canadians see themselves.
Before the bridge was built, the islanders relied on boats to connect with the mainland. (Shane Hennessy / CBC)
He said these fears were prophetic.
“I had a hunch then that it would be renamed in the future,” he said.
“When you name it something like a Confederacy that was so harmful, of course, people will want to change it. At some point the spirit of the time, the sense of time, the spirit of the time will change. I don’t think the spirit of the time is as colonial as it used to be. “
The importance of Confederation
Campbell’s naming panel was tasked with choosing a name based on four criteria. Had to:
- Reflect historically significant places or events;
- Be meaningful to the local region or the rest of Canada;
- If it is named after a Canadian, the person must have died;
- The proposals will welcome human concepts such as peace and friendship.
Three names were shortlisted: the Northumberland Strait Bridge, the Confederate Bridge, and the Abegwight Crossroads.
Abegweit is the English spelling of Epekwitk, the name of PEI in the Mi’kmaw language. It means “swing of the waves.”
“[My father described it] like a feather or something floating on the waves, “Sewell said.
“I have no idea who Prince Edward is. But when I’m on land and looking there, I see Epequitk, you know? It’s so beautiful. Describes the geological characteristics. “
But the federal government was not bound by the commission’s recommendation. On September 27, 1996, Minister of Public Works Diane Marlowe announced that the structure would be called the Confederate Bridge, which a newspaper article at the time said was the most common proposal in all but two provinces.
“That would mean so much for so much,” he said of renaming the Epekwitk Crossing Bridge.
With the support of opposition leaders as well as PEI senators, Prime Minister Dennis King on Friday submitted a proposal calling on the federal government to change the name of the Confederation Bridge to Epekwitk Crossing. 02:00
Wayne Easter, then an MP from Malpec, told the House of Commons at the time that the name was a recognition of “the important role that the PEI has played in Canada’s rich history”.
Sewell writes in his thesis that by choosing this name, the federal government shifts the dynamics from the region to the federation and is the ideal opportunity to reinforce the story of Canadianism that began with this historic event.
The word “confederation” [means] a sovereign union united by a common action or goal. In this case, it was the scourge and the removal of the indigenous people from the continent, “he said.
“The confederation is not of good quality. In this context, this is extreme. It’s a celebration of the Confederate fathers coming together to destroy the environment, the resources – you know, the local intellectualism. So for me, that meant everything then and it means everything now.
Terminated “half-baked and temporary measures”
Godfrey Baldakino, former Canadian research president of island research at PEI University, said in an email that the choice may have been particularly important because of the federal government’s commitment to “continuous and regular communication” between the island and the continent. partners tried to get the PEI to join the Confederacy in the late 19th century.
The fixed link “probably put an end to the semi-finished and temporary measures that were provided for 124 years,” he said.
But Baldakino said the name change proposed last week is also of particular importance, as it reflects the practice of the region’s indigenous people, who have been moving to and from the island for thousands of years. He believes that the islanders will eventually all warm up to the new name.
“The new name reflects, as always, the current concerns, attitudes and values,” UPEI historian Ed MacDonald said in an email to CBC News.
“I dare say that renaming the bridge will not diminish the importance of the Confederacy – for better or for worse – in our collective history.”
The big debate
Back in 1996, the adoption of the newly announced name of the “Bridge of the Confederacy” was the subject of some controversy.
“It will be easy to remember, because everyone connects Prince Edward Island with the Confederacy. said an islander interviewed by CBC News shortly after choosing the name. “I think that’s a very appropriate name. Very appropriate.”
“Don’t you think you can dig deeper, find something better?” said another.
Captain John Joe Sark even led a public campaign to rename the bridge, saying that if the government did not, he and other spiritual leaders in the local community would sail under the bridge to “name it or curse it.”
“This is a name that is imposed on the people of this province,” he told CBC News in 1996.
“Why should Ottawa politicians, who know very little about our history and culture, have the privilege of naming such a vital link with our province?”
“I think there were a lot of people who wanted the name Abegweit as a name for the bridge,” said Donald Stewart, who lives in Charlottetown.
Dividing project
Stewart was one of many activists who opposed the construction of the bridge, mainly for environmental reasons. He said that then everything connected with the bridge was divisive.
In 1988, the province held a public plebiscite to determine whether the bridge should be built. Sixty percent of the islanders voted for it. Construction began in late 1993 and opened in 1997.
“[The bridge] provoked a great debate among the islanders. “Everyone on the island had an opinion on the matter, and that was a good topic of discussion,” Stewart said.
“We need to think about what we thought was important on Prince Edward Island and what we thought was important on Prince Edward Island.
Stewart said he gradually realized that the bridge was a good thing for PEI. Now he will deal with another change.
“I am completely in favor of the name change,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity to support our local languages and it shows respect and importance for the language.”
A simple gesture
When he was younger, Sewell often traveled across the bridge. He is old enough to still remember how he took the ferry with his father before the site was built, and how much more comfortable the bridge was.
He didn’t think much about the name of the bridge or what it meant then. But he said that for the young indigenous people and children of the future, the simple gesture of renaming it would make a world difference.
“If I were the kid driving around and I looked and saw the names of my place in traditional names, I would feel so happy and involved,” he said.
“Seeing traditional names is like hunting Easter eggs for me … I can understand my area through traditional nomenclature. I know a child would feel it.”
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