Key Takeaways:
- As part of important local government reforms that will see many New Brunswick towns amalgamate in January 2023, the provincial government published suggested names for 77 local govts and 12 rural districts.
On Wednesday, the provincial government unveiled proposed names for 77 local governments and 12 rural districts as part of significant local government reforms that would see many New Brunswick municipalities amalgamate in January 2023.
Many completely new names are being considered, including Nouvelle-Arcadie in the Rogersville region, Belle-Baie, which will include Petit-Rocher and Beresford, and Butternut Valley Maple Hills, which will be the new name for the entity that encompasses Irishtown.
Many names, such as Grand Bay-Westfield, remained the same.
According to Local Government and Local Governance Minister Daniel Allain, many of the names will remain the same. During a press conference on Wednesday, they said it represents what citizens suggested during public discussions.
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“For the past 18 months, we’ve been consulting with New Brunswickers,” he stated.
In a few months, he said, the names should be finalized.
“Regulations are the next step,” he explained. “As a result, these entities will request that Cabinet formalize the names, which should happen this summer.”
Historian Maurice Basque, who worked as a toponymy advisor for the renaming process, said he and his colleague Ken Harding visited the public meetings and received much feedback.
“We advised (the administration) that perhaps there are already a lot of names emphasizing forests or rivers,” he added, noting that many of the names imply geographical elements of the areas, with English & French names picked across the province.
The improvements, he claimed, were discussed with First Nations groups.
“The First Nation names that were picked had to be names of formally established companies,” he stated, citing Bouctouche, Caraquet, and Shediac as examples.
Shortly, he indicated, a translation in Wolastoqiyik or Mi’kmaq might be added to the new entity names.
“However, because of respect for their naming custom, language, and culture, you would have to take a seat and have more than a chat with our First Nation neighbors,” he stated.
Source: Global News
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