SJAM Parkway to receive new Indigenous name

BY CHARLIE SENACK

The Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) parkway will soon bear an Indigenous name after years of community push and debate.

The National Capital Commission (NCC) said during a Jan. 19 board meeting that the name will be chosen and voted on by June. It will be announced during a Truth and Reconciliation Day ceremony at the site on Sept. 30.

It’s the third name in over a decade for the popular four-lane thoroughfare.

Formerly called the Ottawa River Parkway, it was renamed after Canada’s first prime minister in 2012 during the Harper government, as an effort to

“reflect” more of Canada’s history. Public outcry started soon after, and increased in recent years after the horrors of Canada’s former Indian residential school system came to light. It is estimated that more than 4,000 Indigenous children