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Victoria to replace Trutch Street with Indigenous name

Victoria to change name of Trutch Street
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Victoria city council is officially changing the name of Trutch Street following a unanimous vote Thursday.

The city had long considered changing the name of the Fairfield neighbourhood street, since it was named after Joseph Trutch, a controversial historical figure who served as B.C.'s first lieutenant-governor.

Trutch had racist views of B.C.’s Indigenous population based on historical records, and used his position as B.C.'s chief commissioner of lands and works to dramatically reduce the size of Indigenous reserves.

Joseph Trutch, B.C.'s first lieutenant-governor, is seen in an image from Library and Archives Canada.

On Thursday, Victoria council voted to change the name of Trutch Street to Su'it Street, pronounced "say-eet."

Su'it means "truth," or "meaning to tell the truth," according to the city.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says there has been strong community support for changing the street name, which is on Lekwungen Nation land.

"Reconciliation is about more than just words. It has to be actions, and this is an action that I think makes the residents of that small street, and the UVic students that brought the (idea) forward, feel like they're part of some really important work that's happening right now," she said.

"It's relationship building, it's community building, and it really sets a good tone for the future."

The city plans to hold a renaming ceremony on July 10.

With files from CTV News' Yvonne Raymond.

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