City staff recommend Victoria's Trutch Street be renamed with Lekwungen word for truth

Trutch Street, a short residential street in one of Victoria's oldest neighborhoods, is one step away from bearing a new name.

In a report going to city council on Thursday, staff have recommended the street be called Su'it Street (pronounced SAY-eet), which is the English spelling of sit. That's a Lekwungen word that can mean "to be true or real" as a verb, or "his words were true or truthful" as an adjective.

Lekwungen is the language of the Esquimalt and Songhees peopleon whose traditional territory Victoria is located.

Joseph Trutch, B.C.'s first lieutenant-governor, once lived on the street. His racist policies had a huge negative impact on Indigenous peoples in the province. When B.C. entered Confederation in 1871, he drastically reduced the size of reserves that had been negotiated and he refused to let Indigenous people purchase land from non-Indigenous people.

There has been a push to rename the street since 2018. The University of Victoria removedTrutch's name froma residence building in 2017.

In June 2021, Victoria council directed staff to research a name change, after a group of UVic students petitioned the city. Council suggested making a simple change, from TrutchtoTruth.After consultation with the Esquimalt and Songhees Councils, as well as the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association and residents of the street, staff determined that the Lekwungen word for truth was most appropriate.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says the change is symbolic, and comes from the community, but stresses that "the real work of reconciliation" is happening between the city and the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations every day. She cites the redesign of Songhees Park, at the foot of the Johnson Street Bridge in the Vic West neighbourhood, which is being directed by the nations. She calls that project "a visible manifestation of reconciliation in action, that's creating something new not fixing something old."

Thereport from city staffrecommends that council create a bylaw to change the name to Su'it Street; ask the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations if they have any further cultural considerations; and direct staff to begin the administrative work to change the street name, install new signs, and help residences and businesses change their addresses.