In October 2018, Halifax Regional Council approved the formation of a joint Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous History (Task Force), between the Halifax Regional Municipality (municipality) and the Mi’kmaw community, as represented by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs (ANSMC). The Task Force reflects an equal partnership between Halifax Regional Council and ANSMC.

The Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous History completed its report, with its recommendations, at the end of April 2020. A staff report on these recommendations was presented to Regional Council on July 21, 2020. View the report here.

On July 21, 2020, Regional Council voted to:

1. Accept the report of the Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous History;
2. Approve the proposed HRM responses to the recommendations of the Task Force report; and,
3. Direct the CAO to return to Council annually to report on progress addressing the recommendations. 

Renaming of Cornwallis Street to Nora Bernard Street

Overview

On December 13, 2022, Regional Council approved the renaming of Cornwallis Street to Nora Bernard Street. The new street name will come into effect on Monday, October 30, 2023.

Residents are invited to attend an upcoming recognition event to honour this important step towards reconciliation:

When: Monday, October 30 beginning at 10 a.m.
Where: The corner of North Park and Nora Bernard streets (formerly North Park and Cornwallis streets)

Details: This rain-or-shine event will include a traditional smudging ceremony performed by an Indigenous Elder, an Indigenous drumming performance and remarks from Nora Bernard’s living family members. No registration required.

Nora Bernard, Recipient of the Order of Nova Scotia, was a residential school survivor and prominent activist who successfully demanded compensation for residential school survivors. Learn more about Nora Bernard here.

As directed by Regional Council, the renaming of Cornwallis Street is one of the recommendations of the Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous History, and a step towards reconciliation.

In February and September 2023, the municipality sent letters to all property owners and residents on Cornwallis Street, which included further information and specific changes to each address. The new street name, Nora Bernard Street, will come into effect on Monday, October 30, 2023. The street name change will only affect the street name; the existing civic numbers, apartment or unit numbers, and postal codes will remain the same.

The municipality will notify 911 and emergency service providers of the new civic addresses, however, it is the responsibility of residents to inform any private security or health monitoring companies of their new civic address.

For those experiencing a mailing address change, the municipality will arrange for Canada Post to automatically redirect mail free of charge for one year, until October 30, 2024.

As the municipality recognizes that address changes have an impact on business operations, the standard 60 days’ notice, as required by By-law C-300, Respecting Civic Addressing, was extended to nine months to provide additional lead-time for businesses to prepare for and implement this change.

This web page will continue to be updated as information becomes available.

Public engagement for the renaming of Cornwallis Street

From 2021 to 2022, all residents across the municipality were invited to participate in two surveys to provide their feedback on the renaming of Cornwallis Street.

An Advisory Group – consisting of municipal Civic Addressing staff, Diversity & Inclusion staff, as well as local councillors – reviewed the survey results and made the recommendation of Nora Bernard Street.

The first round of public engagement took place during the fall of 2021, where residents had the opportunity to submit name suggestions. The municipality encouraged suggestions that reflect the goal of reconciliation. The 3,300 name suggestions received were reviewed and evaluated based on appropriateness, cultural significance, diversity and originality. From this review, a short list of potential new street names was created.

The second round of public engagement took place during the summer of 2022, where residents had the opportunity to select their three preferred street names from the short list. A total of 8,733 surveys were completed.

Background on the Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous History

In October 2017, Halifax Regional Council approved the creation of a Special Advisory Committee on Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous History was established, with the mandate of providing advice to Regional Council regarding the commemoration of Edward Cornwallis on municipal assets (e.g. park, statue, street) and on the recognition and commemoration of indigenous history in the lands now known as the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Council approved a budget for the committee of $50,000, for research, public engagement, and other required supports, and a stipend for each committee member of $150 per meeting, up to $2,100. There was no reporting period established for the committee.

The names of the 10 members, five proposed by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs and five by staff from the Halifax Regional Municipality, were presented on July 17, 2018 to Regional Council, which ratified the appointment of proposed members.

In August 2018, the co-chairs requested a change in the governance structure of the committee. This motion was approved by Regional Council in October 2018, following similar motions passed by the committee, then by the Assembly.

In December 2018, an administrative approach to the new governance structure was ratified between the Halifax Regional Municipality and Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative) on behalf of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs and the Mi’kmaw of Nova Scotia.

Originally established as a Special Advisory Committee to Regional Council, the new governance structure better reflects the equal partnership between the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs, and the committee now has the ability to set its own processes and procedures.