Developers of the proposed residential-commercial community called Zibi – an Algonquin word meaning river – on Albert and Chaudière islands say they will not be changing the name of the development despite concerns from some First Nations groups.
Jonathan Westeinde, a managing partner at Ottawa-based Windmill Development Group, one of the companies heading the re-development of what used to be a pulp mill complex, says the company is engaging in ongoing dialogue with First Nations leaders in order to be inclusive.
“There will always be consultation and there’s always dialogue, so I can never say never, but at the moment, no, we won’t be changing it,” Westeinde says.
One of those leaders, Gilbert Whiteduck, is the chief of the Kitigan Zibi community located in Maniwaki, Que., about 100 kilometres north of Ottawa-Gatineau.
Whiteduck told the Ottawa Citizen Feb. 26 he does not support the development of the community or its name because the proper protocols to seek the permission to use the word zibi were not used.
Whiteduck says use of the word zibi implies there is support from the Kitigan Zibi community.
The use of the word is an “appropriation of our Anishinaabe language,” says Whiteduck, because Kitigan Zibi is the only band that uses zibi as the word for river.
Other First Nations communities spell the word for river with an “s.w”
Westeinde says the concerns about the name do not necessarily represent the concerns of all First Nations groups, which is why they are not planning to change it at this time.
Windmill Development Group and Toronto-based Dream Unlimited, the companies collaboratively heading the construction of Zibi, announced the name Feb. 24 at an on-site launch of the building project.
The project has been approved by the City of Ottawa.
Westeinde says the project will cost more than $1 billion. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring and the project would be complete by 2030.
Sixty per cent of the space is designed to be residential and would house between 3,000 and 5,000 people.
Thirty per cent will be office space, and retail outlets will fill the remaining 10 per cent, Westeinde says.
The development will include more than 3.5 million square feet – all of which, Westeinde says, will aim to have no carbon footprint, with the goal of being the most sustainable community in the world.
Jason Lester, the senior vice-president of urban development for Dream Unlimited, says the company has high aspirations for this community.
“It is so unique. It’s unlike any other community around North America,” Lester says. “The fact that it is located between the downtown Gatineau and downtown Ottawa means it will be an important cultural meeting place.”
Patrick Henry, chairman of the Chelsea, Que.-based Canadian Canoe Foundation, agrees that there is significant cultural meaning in the area, which is why he suggested the name Zibi for the community in Windmill Development Group’s naming contest.
“The development is taking place on the shore of the Ottawa River in a very historically, culturally, and spiritually significant area for the Algonquin people,” Henry says. “I thought it would be an interesting way to get people to talk about some of the history of it, the issue of the unceded territory.”
Westeinde says his team chose five suggestions from the contest and discussed the names with various community groups.
“Even with different First Nations groups, Zibi was the one that got the most support from the various test groups we did,” Westeinde says. “You’re never going to get perfect acceptance of any name, but that was the one that got the greatest degree of acceptance.”