Comment 298 – comments and feedback

Iris Diplock

I and most of my neighbours are extremely upset by this proposal to change our riding's name from Parkdale - High Park to Taiaiako'n - High Park. We are very proud Parkdalians (the City of Parkdale goes back to 1850) and wonder why Parkdale always seems to be targeted for changes with little or no discussion or consultation. What is wrong with Parkdale's name and what is the proper pronunciation for Taiaiako'n and what does it mean?

We feel that it would be far more appropriate for High Park's name to be changed to the Indigenous name instead of Parkdale as the following article on the history of High Park indicates:

Archaeological evidence indicates that native peoples inhabited the High Park area as early as 7,000 BC. The nearby Humber River was a well-used trade route linking native settlements between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. In the 1600s an Iroquois village known as Teiaiagon flourished on the edge of the Humber valley northwest of High Park where villagers cleared surrounding lands using fire and cultivated corn, beans and maize on the sandy uplands.

Our local school, Queen Victoria Public School has recently been changed to Dr. Rita Cox-Kina - Minogok which we are happy about and we have no issues with Indigenous names but we feel that other ridings in Toronto should also have to be politically correct. How many other ridings like Forest Hill or Rosedale are having their names being changed to Indigenous names?

Please reconsider this proposal as we love Parkdale and are very proud to be living here.
Sincerely,
Iris Diplock