The Commission de toponymie du Québec will only officially recognize the renaming of municipal infrastructure after an individual only after their death, according to spokesman Jean-Pierre Le Blanc.
The commission will wait at least one year after a person’s death before it will official recognize something being renamed in their honour, he added.
If a municipality doesn’t adhere to this policy for something like a community centre, the designated name cannot officially be recognized by the commission.
Unless it’s something involving public security, like a street or a body of water to be renamed after an individual, the commission doesn’t insist its post-death policy be followed, Le Blanc said.
Most often, cities tend to rename a park, arena or community centre after a person who has died, like the Malcolm Knox Aquatic Centre in Pointe-Claire, a designation that was officially recognized in 2005 by Quebec’s toponymy commission. However, there are exceptions to this protocol in the West Island.
Last month, Senneville council decided to rename its community centre after longtime mayor George McLeish, defeated in the Nov. 3 election. In 2009, Dorval named its cultural centre next to the municipal library after longtime mayor Peter Yeomans a few years after he retired from politics.
Dollard-des-Ormeaux also renamed a park several years ago after longtime Mayor Ed Janiszewski, 80, who was acclaimed last fall to a new term. Kirkland has had a policy of using only the last name of some of its mayors or councillors to designate streets or parks while said person is still alive, and in some cases, still in office.
George McLeish, former Senneville mayor who was defeated in last November’s municipal election, is the latest West Island official to have a building named after him. To read story, click here.