Author of the article: Date of publication: 29 Apr 2022 • 9 hours ago • 2 minutes reading • 285 Comments Archive bridge photo of the Confederation Bridge connecting PEI with New Brunswick. Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS / Andrew Vaughan
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CHARLOTAUN – Members of the Prince Edward Island Legislature voted unanimously on Friday to ask the federal government to change the name of the Confederation Bridge to Epekwitk Crossing.
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Epekwitk is the Mi’kmaq word for “something in the water” and is the traditional name Mi’kmaq people have long used to describe the island. “This is a great opportunity,” said PEI Prime Minister Dennis King, who tabled a proposal backed by Peter Bevan-Baker, leader of the Opposition Green Party. “I’m excited about the process and I’m excited about what will follow.” The proposal states that “it is of the utmost importance that indigenous languages be respected and recognized”, adding that 2022 is the International Decade of Indigenous Language. “Renaming the Confederation Bridge to the Epekwitk Crossing is a way for Prince Edward Island and Canada to show their commitment to defending the rights of indigenous peoples, which are protected by the Constitution.”
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The resolution also cites the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which in its 2015 report on the country’s home school system advised the federal government to promote indigenous languages as a “fundamental and valuable element of Canadian culture.” Several members of the legislature stood in the assembly house to speak in favor of the proposed change, saying the new name would reflect the province’s commitment to reconciliation. “At Epekwitk, we take reconciliation seriously,” said Karla Bernard, a Green member for Charlottetown-Victoria Park. “This is a really special opportunity and I want to thank the three leaders in this house who brought it forward.” Lynne Lund, Green member for Summerside-Wilmot, said there was once a systematic attempt to erase the history and language of the island’s First Nations.
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“If you unpack the history of the Mi’kmaq people in PEI and the indigenous peoples across the country, you will see that they have gone through a history of watching everything be renamed,” he told the legislature. “Indian agents even had the power to rename people if you could wrap your mind around it.” We must remember what was taken. We must remember that the names of our ancestors have been lost. “ The people of Mi’kmaq have lived on the island for 12,000 years. The 12.9-kilometer bridge connecting the PEI to New Brunswick was completed in 1997 after four years of construction, using crews of more than 5,000 local workers, the website said. It is one of the largest bridges in the world crossing ice-covered water and one of Canada’s leading engineering achievements of the 20th century.
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It was a focal point during the pandemic, with long queues of cars not crossing the bridge into the “bubble” of Atlantic Canada, which was only inhabited. Its construction has also sparked controversy, with PEI residents divided over how easier access to the island, previously accessible only by boat, will affect their way of life. The debate was decided at the polls in a referendum in 1988. A marginal majority – 59.4 percent of islanders said yes. In the early 1990s, a committee sought public input and advised the federal government to name the Abegweit Crossing Bridge, which is the English, colonial term for Epekwitk. But the commission also provided two alternatives, the Confederate Bridge and the Northumberland Strait Bridge. Ottawa selected the Confederation Bridge on September 27, 1996. This Canadian Press report was first published on April 29, 2022.
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