Process to change derogatory place names in Shelburne County nears completion

Four racially derogatory place names in Shelburne County will be changed early in 2022. 

In an interview at Province House on Thursday, Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc said the process that began in 2018 to change the place names that include a racial slur is in its final stages.

The places in the Municipality of Barrington that will be getting a new name are ones that include the word negro or squaw, which have been called harmful by Black and Indigenous communities. 

Community groups in Shelburne County were consulted this summer about possible new names for the four places.

"We've got a list from residents," LeBlanc said.

The next step in the process is to present the names to all of the county for feedback. 

After background work with the Municipality of Barrington and local politicians, the process will be complete. 

"And that's the final decision for the names," said LeBlanc. "The change will be announced early in the new calendar year." 

The process to change the four names began in 2018, when a local man issued a complaint to the Nova Scotia government about place names including a racial slur, after being called the same slur in a coffee shop. 

When changing a place name, the province follows national guidelines published by the Geographic Names Board of Canada.

There is a detailed process to change a place name that could include getting letters from local politicians and municipal governments, creating a petition or holding a plebiscite in the affected community.

However, the process can't be initiated by the government. It must be set in motion by a complaint from a citizen.

Liberal MLA Patricia Arab, the former minister of Service Nova Scotia, said she thinks this process needs to change. 

She said the "most frustrating part" is that it is based on complaints.