Petitioners look to rename Disraeli Bridge

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This article was published 24/11/2017 (3191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A group looking to honour the late Stephen Juba is finding frustration at City Hall.

John Melnyk is a retired Ukrainian Orthodox priest and the interim chair of the Sons of Ukrainian Pioneers. He said he and his group gathered a petition bearing 1,340 signatures in support of changing the name of the Disraeli Bridge to Stephen Juba Bridge, in honour of the former longstanding mayor of Winnipeg.

“He was the one that instigated the building of the bridge,” Melnyk said.

Because of Juba’s Ukrainian heritage, the Sons of Ukrainian Pioneers thought it fitting to have the bridge renamed after him in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada, which was celebrated last year. They set about gathering their signatures, mostly through various church connections across the North End, Elmwood, and East Kildonan, and after a year and a half, were ready to present the petition to the City.

“Then we had a hard time finding out who we get the petition to,” Melnyk admitted. “We’d call City Hall, they’d tell us to talk to a clerk. Then we were told to go to community committee.”

Melnyk got in touch with Coun. Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan), who said he is supportive of the idea, in hopes it would come before the EK-Transcona Community Committee back in July 2016. However, the item was not presented to the committee.

“The petition is valid,” Schreyer said. “But it’s a question of prioritizing this.”

Schreyer said that while he supports the idea of changing the bridge’s name, he doesn’t get the sense that the issue is a high priority at City Hall, or that it has the necessary support to succeed at this point.

“I’m frustrated with the process on this very issue,” Schreyer said. “I’m not ignoring it, but it’s not a simple thing to change. It’s something that might take time to come to fruition, unless one just wants a vote for the record, which might fail. I don’t want that.”

“We are at a standstill,” Melnyk said. “Our members want to continue, but I told them at our last meeting, we can’t get to first base. Our hands are tied.”

Melnyk said he would like to meet directly with the mayor and executive policy committee directly to appeal the Sons of the Ukrainian Pioneers’ cause.

“If you can’t get the mayor on board, well…” Melnyk shrugged.

In the meantime, Schreyer said he would encourage the Sons of Ukrainian Pioneers, and anyone else interested in renaming the bridge after Juba, to continue educating the public on the former mayor’s legacy.

“He’s a giant in the history of Winnipeg,” said Schreyer, whose father, former premier Ed Schreyer, worked with Juba on Unicity. “Stephen Juba does epitomize Winnipeg and the extension of Winnipeg. Renaming bridge that spans across the Red River to Elmwood, which was first expansion of city beyond its borders, it’s highly symbolic and appropriate.”

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