Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

'Swastika Trail' Stands: Court Won't Interfere With Ontario Township Vote

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Jun, 2019 07:33 PM

    TORONTO — An Ontario township was within its rights to maintain the name of a street called Swastika Trail, despite the passionate objections of some residents, Divisional Court has ruled.

     

    In its decision, the panel found no reason to interfere with Puslinch council's votes against changing the name of the private road.


    "Council's decision was evidently disappointing to the applicants and likely does not accord with the beliefs of many Canadians," Divisional Court said in its ruling. "(But) there is no basis for finding that council's decisions were unlawful."


    Swastika Trail, near Puslinch Lake in central southwestern Ontario, was named in the 1920s. The road is owned by a private corporation controlled by Paul Wyszynski, one of the 54 residents who live on it. However, the trail runs into a municipal road and is used as a public thoroughfare.


    In response to several complaints about the name, the township asked staff in June 2017 to report on a possible change. Staff recommended a change with the consent of residents on the road but Wyszynski opposed any change.


    Council did pass a resolution to "encourage" the Bayview Cottagers Association — comprising 82 members, 54 with homes on Swastika trail — to consider a renaming but a majority of the organization voted to keep it.


    After hearing from several delegations at a heated meeting in December 2017, council voted 4-1 against any name change.


    Two residents, Randy Guzar and William Knetsch, sought a judicial review of the township's actions. They and others in the area argue the swastika is a symbol that has "represented hatred, white supremacy and anti-Semitism" since the Second World War.


    Guzar, who has lived on the road for the past 18 years, said he associates the swastika with the bigotry and genocide of the Nazis.


    "He does not want to be linked with the symbol, and he says that when he presents his driver's licence or health card, he is routinely asked if he is a white supremacist or a neo-Nazi," court said in its decision.


    Among other things, Guzar objected to how the cottagers association held its vote, including distributing a pamphlet about the positive history of the swastika before the Nazis used it.


    Legally, he and Knetsch argued council had illegally based its decision on what the association wanted. The township argued it made its own decision. Divisional Court sided with the township.


    "There is no doubt that, to many people in Canada in the 21st century, the swastika is an abhorrent symbol, reminiscent of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis," the court said. "However, the discrete issue raised on this application is whether council for the Township of Puslinch acted lawfully when it voted not to change the name of the road."


    On that point, the court said, the record clearly shows council did not simply defer to the cottagers association but considered various options before deciding as it did.


    In the war era, the city of Berlin, Ont., changed to the existing Kitchener, while the community of Swastika in northern Ontario changed to Winston. However, residents of Swastika, named in about 1908, objected and the original name was kept.

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Stepmother Of Quebec Girl Who Died In April Now Faces Second-Degree Murder Charge

    Stepmother Of Quebec Girl Who Died In April Now Faces Second-Degree Murder Charge
    GRANBY, Que. — The stepmother of a seven-year-old Quebec girl who died under troubling circumstances now faces a charge of second-degree murder.

    Stepmother Of Quebec Girl Who Died In April Now Faces Second-Degree Murder Charge

    Fraud, Money Laundering Charges Laid Against 4 Executives With Vancouver’s PacNet Services

    VANCOUVER — Four executives of a Vancouver-based payment-processing firm have been charged in what the U.S. Department of Justice says was a massive fraud scheme.

    Fraud, Money Laundering Charges Laid Against 4 Executives With Vancouver’s PacNet Services

    As Parliament Rises, Which Bills Made It Through — And Which Ones Didn't

    As Parliament Rises, Which Bills Made It Through — And Which Ones Didn't
    The House of Commons and Senate have risen for the summer, following several weeks of frenzied legislating as MPs hurried key pieces of legislation out the door ahead of an election this fall.

    As Parliament Rises, Which Bills Made It Through — And Which Ones Didn't

    Celebrations Across Canada To Mark National Indigenous Peoples Day

    Events are being held across Canada to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day, including a sunrise ceremony in Toronto, a totem pole unveiling in Whitehorse and the renaming of a street in Montreal.

    Celebrations Across Canada To Mark National Indigenous Peoples Day

    Danforth Shooter Faisal Hussain Had Long History Of Violent Thoughts, Motive Unclear: Police

    Police Chief Mark Saunders says Hussain was not affiliated with radical ideologies, hate groups or terrorist organizations.

    Danforth Shooter Faisal Hussain Had Long History Of Violent Thoughts, Motive Unclear: Police

    Surrey RCMP Seek Public Help In Locating Three-Year-Old Brycein Toane And Parents

    RCMP in Surrey, B.C., want to find a three-year-old child who has not been seen since Tuesday.

    Surrey RCMP Seek Public Help In Locating Three-Year-Old Brycein Toane And Parents

    PrevNext