An Edmonton city councillor says he wants to ingrain the love Albertans have for Canada in a red-and-white street sign.
Michael Janz says he will be submitting an application to rename the portion of 99th Avenue that’s adjacent to Alberta’s legislature in downtown Edmonton to Forever Canadian Avenue.
“This is a high tourist destination,” Janz said about the east-to-west thoroughfare in a phone interview after his Sunday announcement.
“This is the place where school groups and other groups come by to visit, and where they can hear and learn about the Forever Canadian (petition) and how many patriotic Canadians and Albertans supported this movement.”
On Sunday morning, Janz unveiled a mock red, bilingual street sign, reading, “av. Forever Canadian Ave,” which also says “Treaty 6” around a maple leaf on top. To a smattering of applause from supporters, Janz presented the sign to former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, who orchestrated the gathering of signatures for a federalist petition in the face of increasing discussion about Alberta possibly separating from Canada.
“Forever Canadian” is the name of the petition which had just over 400,000 signatures verified by election officials in December.
Janz said many of his constituents signed the petition and volunteered to help collect signatures for it.
Lukaszuk said consecutive prime ministers have grappled with concerns raised in different regions of Canada about imperfections with the union. Separatist talk could sabotage any work toward economic progress, he said.
“Particularly at this time, when we are faced with geopolitical threats, both economic and those to our national security, the last thing we should be doing is playing into the hands of our adversaries and dividing ourselves internally,” Lukaszuk told reporters on Sunday.
The province’s lawmakers have yet to decide whether the petition’s proposed question, “Do you agree that Alberta should remain within Canada?” will be put on a ballot in a fall referendum or to a vote in the legislature.
An all-party committee of MLAs is considering its recommendations for the legislature’s next steps. The committee has not yet agreed to hear directly from Lukaszuk.
Lukaszuk and the Opposition NDP have accused the government MLA-dominated committee of delaying its work, a charge that government committee members have refuted.
Janz’s Sunday announcement comes days after a judge’s decision to throw out a separatist group’s petition calling for a referendum.
The judge said the Stay Free Alberta group’s petition shouldn’t have been issued under a provincial law that Premier Danielle Smith’s government changed.
The judge also said Smith’s government neglected its duty to consult First Nations.
Smith has said she supports a sovereign Alberta in a united Canada but also says she believes Albertans are frustrated with Ottawa and deserve to be heard.
She has also said she doesn’t want her government to add a separation question to a referendum already scheduled for Oct. 19 because she believes Alberta should remain in Canada and work to improve relations with Ottawa. However, she has also said she believes Alberta citizens should have the right to put forward referendum questions if they have enough support to do so.
Stay Free Alberta and Smith have said they will be appealing the judge’s decision.
Janz said the separatist issue in Alberta hasn’t just affected the national and provincial political climate.
“The spectre of separatism is an enormous risk to investment in our province, jobs in our community,” he said.
“It’s creating uncertainty. You can’t build a robust economy, a prosperous Edmonton, with this looming spectre of separation.”
Janz said he will submit his application for the street renaming to Edmonton’s naming committee this week, once he’s gathered some letters of support.
The naming committee is made up of members of the public, not politicians.
Janz said he hopes to celebrate Canada Day in July on a street called Forever Canadian Avenue.
Edmonton’s naming policy says the committee considers factors such as connections to Indigenous history or culture, significant contributions to Edmonton, Alberta or Canada, and reflections of the diversity of the community.
Janz said it’s up to the applicant to pay for any sign changes, which he would do by both fundraising and using his own money, should the committee approve his proposal.
