Hon. Percy E. Downe: Honourable senators, in the early 1990s, when the fixed link joining Prince Edward Island to the rest of Canada was under construction, the Government of Canada asked former premier Alex Campbell to chair a committee to select a name for the bridge. That committee recommended Epekwitk Crossing, the original name given by the Mi’kmaq for the land now known as Prince Edward Island. But the federal government rejected that recommendation and, in 1996, named the crossing Confederation Bridge.

Late last year, I was contacted by Island resident Peter Rukavina, who reminded me of the 1996 decision and suggested that it was time to correct this mistake. I immediately contacted my colleague Senator Brian Francis and then Senator Diane Griffin, and a series of meetings were organized.

After confirming the support of Indigenous groups, we met with the leaders of three political parties in Prince Edward Island: Premier Dennis King of the Progressive Conservatives, Official Opposition leader Peter Bevan-Baker of the Green Party and Third Party leader Sonny Gallant of the Liberals. They all agreed to jointly move a motion urging the federal government to rename the bridge Epekwitk Crossing, using the traditional Mi’kmaq spelling.

Honourable senators, I am pleased to report to this chamber that the motion passed unanimously last Friday in the P.E.I. legislature.

Senator Downe: The Government of Canada and the Government of Prince Edward Island have an obligation to work in full consultation and cooperation with Indigenous people to uphold their rights as well as to redress past and ongoing harms.

Language is important to preserve a culture, and this effort to reclaim the Epekwitk name that was recommended in 1996 would be a powerful symbol of the true history of our province.

Colleagues, as I stated, many people have worked to correct the mistake made in 1996, but we would not have achieved this milestone without the outstanding leadership of former chief and current Senator Brian Francis. Let the record show that he made the successful passage of this motion happen. All praise to him and to the Mi’kmaq people of our province.

The unanimous passage of this motion in the P.E.I. legislature is a wonderful development and important first step. I want to congratulate the Progressive Conservative, Green and Liberal MLAs for working collectively on this motion and urge the Government of Canada to take immediate action to change the name of Confederation Bridge and make the name Epekwitk Crossing a reality as soon as possible.