Mississauga will not change the name of its downtown street, which bears the royal title held by former British prince Andrew, who has been linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Instead, during Wednesday’s meeting, Mississauga councillors unanimously adopted a motion to “reassociate” the Duke of York Boulevard, “removing its connection from the individual Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in keeping with the actions taken by Buckingham Palace.”
King Charles III stripped his brother’s titles, including his princeship, last month amid sexual allegations against Andrew, who continues to deny them. He was also forced out of his Windsor home.
The Duke of York Boulevard was named in commemoration of Andrew opening the Mississauga Civic Centre in 1987, according to the motion. Before Andrew, the royal title was held by his grandfather, who ascended to the throne as King George VI.
The street is located in between Square One mall and Sheridan College’s Hazel McCallion campus.
The motion, put forward by Coun. John Kovac, who represents the area where the street is located, will also remove all plaques or non-critical wayfinding signage associated with Andrew from City of Mississauga-owned property.
In the motion, it said that in addition to “significant costs” to the city, renaming would require all property owners and residents along the boulevard to carry out a process of updating their personal information.
According to the motion, there are 1,400 residential addresses along the boulevard.
Coun. Dipika Damerla, who seconded Kovac’s motion, said changing the name would have cost taxpayers up to $750,000.
“The street is named after a title, not an individual. The title is over 600 years old and has been held by 13 people. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is no longer using that title,” Damerla said in a statement.
Council also asked staff to bring back other considerations on human trafficking following engagement with groups and agencies in Peel Region.
The initial motion moved by Coun. Alvin Tedjo stated renaming the street would be a signal that Mississauga was standing in solidarity with victims of sexual trafficking and abuse.
Tedjo said he was disappointed that the council would not move forward with the renaming but accepted that disassociating Andrew was “a compromise that we can make here.”
“We are finding a middle ground that is more convenient for ourselves and for residents. I accept that as the direction of council and as a reason that is certainly legitimate,” Tedjo said during Wednesday’s meeting.
In a statement, Mayor Carolyn Parrish said a name change would force more than 1,400 residents to pay to update their addresses at a time when they are already financially strained.
With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
