Plante stubborn on Bernard Landry station
Despite an outcry, Mayor Plante is digging in her heels on naming a REM station Griffintown—Bernard-Landry.
Someone raised the point here whether or why Plante has naming rights over the REM, which is not a municipal project, and I don’t know the answer to that. I also don’t see why the station isn’t just “Griffintown” which is what I hope its eventual users will call it.
Kevin 10:22 on 2019-12-17 Permalink
Plante’s quote from the article: “But it’s also the entrance to the multimedia district founded by the former premier Mr. Bernard Landry, who made a major contribution to the economic development of Montreal and Quebec,” she said.
That’s a terrible rationale.
Ask the good people of Vercheres to name something after the dead politician.
Filp 12:49 on 2019-12-17 Permalink
The REM will undoubtedly use whatever name is being suggested by the mayor, probably as a way of staying on good terms with the city. It costs the CDPQ zero dollars and zero mind to just add a hyphen.
Kevin, there’s definitely something in Montreal going to be named after him, but it doesn’t have to be Griffintown. However, comments about how some off island city should use the name instead make it seem like Montreal doesn’t honor PQ politicians. René Lévesque, the founder the party, definitely has his place in the toponymie…
qatzelok 14:09 on 2019-12-17 Permalink
Rather than the REM station, I would rename Wellington Strreet – “rue Bernard Landry.”
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, and Arthur Wellesley’s old stomping grounds (Wellington) appears as often as McDonalds franchises in British Empire-created countries. “Wellington Street” is like having a “No Name Street.” Or “President’s Choice Street.”
Rue Bernard Landry…. would be more unique.
Kevin 14:55 on 2019-12-17 Permalink
@Flip
I suggested Vercheres because that’s where Landry lived.
He was a MNA for part of Laval.
Renaming parts of this city for every minor PQ entity is just retconning and divisive.
Donovan King 16:25 on 2019-12-17 Permalink
I’ve updated my letter to the Mayor: http://www.optative.net/blog/an-open-letter-from-a-city-of-montreal-ambassador-to-mayor-valerie-plante-re-griffintown-rem-proposal-and-negative-international-reaction/
ant6n 18:02 on 2019-12-17 Permalink
Projet Montreal didn’t make any effort whatsoever on their election platform to not have the REM monopolize the Mount-Royal tunnel, i.e. improve the project by integrating it with VIA and Commuter trains (I believe Plante said something nonsensical like “well you can’t be elected on building transit and be against a transit project”). Now they’re having this side show controversy over what is unrelated to how useful the project is for moving people and integrating with the region.
JP 20:17 on 2019-12-17 Permalink
I will certainly only ever refer to it as Griffintown Station. I will also not vote for her again. So much for logic and erasing/ignoring history altogether. This was a perfect opportunity to commemorate Irish history in Montreal.
Kate 08:19 on 2019-12-18 Permalink
JP, I’m not sure I’d go that far, because the current city hall opposition has shown itself petty and with no vision of how the city could be run differently, but Plante has shown herself to be culturally tone-deaf in a way I hadn’t expected of her over this relatively trivial matter.
I never met my Irish-Canadian grandfather who was born in the Griff but I feel myself channeling him at moments over this, and I can almost hear some of the choice things he would’ve had to say about the mayor’s idea of a suitable figure to be enshrined in that place.