Taxpayers charged $33k to rename street to a woke word nobody can read or pronounce

A Canadian politician slammed her city over the “price of progress” as she revealed the details behind renaming a street to something residents can’t pronounce at a cost of over $33,000.

Known as the hometown of celebrities like Ryan Reynolds and Joshua Jackson, the Kitsilano neighborhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, took virtue signaling to a new level this year when it renamed Trutch Street. Now, the block that once paid tribute to the province’s first lieutenant governor adopted a Hunquminum spelling as it read šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street at the taxpayer’s expense.

Translating to Musqueamview Street to recognize the Musqueam Indian Band, the street’s official renaming ceremony had taken place in June, but it was only recently that Dallas Brodie, member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA), had uncovered the fact that the city had spent some $33,500 to rename the street — including payouts to the band.

“Vancouver gets it,” Brodie wrote on X as she shared a breakdown of money spent toward the renaming, including $6,000 for attendance at meetings. “Leaked documents show that the city paid Musqueam $33,500 to come to meetings and events for the renaming of Trutch Street. Residents had no say and nobody except woke, white consultants can read the new name, but who cares? That’s the price of progress!”

Vancouver gets it.

Leaked documents show that the city paid Musqueam $33,500 to come to meetings and events for the renaming of Trutch street.

Residents had no say and nobody except woke, white consultants can read the new name, but who cares? That’s the price of progress! pic.twitter.com/iESaHgtX1u

— Dallas Brodie (@Dallas_Brodie) September 19, 2025

In June, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim attended the renaming ceremony and insisted, “Today, we address a historic injustice and take another step forward on the path towards reconciliation.”

“Vancouver is the City of Reconciliation and while we are proud of the work we have done to date, we look forward to finding more ways to build a better, more equitable future together,” he went on.

Today, we address a historic injustice and take another step forward on the path towards reconciliation.

With the renaming of Trutch Street to šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmasəm Street (Musqueamview Street), we recognize and honour the Musqueam people and their longstanding connection to this… pic.twitter.com/fsU5SruPRg

— Mayor Ken Sim (@KenSimCity) June 20, 2025

Meanwhile, the city’s response to the revelations on the renaming included requesting she delete her post, insisting that the records she had shared were the “subject of a privacy breach” and they had been inadvertently disclosed to a Freedom of Information applicant after the city determined they needed to be withheld “on the basis of harm to governmental relations … harm to interests of an Indigenous people … and harm to personal privacy.”

In response to the city’s request, which she shared under the caption, “I told them to pound sand. If you pay the taxes, you should know where they go,” Brodie refuted the claims of violations and wrote, “I am deeply troubled by the City’s attempts to conceal the costs of the Trutch Street renaming on the grounds that doing so would somehow ‘harm’ indigenous rights. Is it actually the City’s position that the costs of indigenous ceremonies must be kept secret from the taxpayers of Vancouver?”

The City of Vancouver just demanded that I destroy the documents I posted last week revealing how much money they paid Musqueam to rename Trutch Street.

I told them to pound sand.

If you pay the taxes, you should know where they go. https://t.co/rSANNIe2pi pic.twitter.com/dQkj5KiIUZ

— Dallas Brodie (@Dallas_Brodie) September 26, 2025

She further contended with the post’s reach that it would be “a pointless exercise” to delete it if she saw fit to comply with the request before urging the city “to begin showing greater respect to Vancouver taxpayers by exploring every legal avenue to fully and proactively disclose the full costs of any so-called reconciliation initiatives it may undertake.”

Rather than address the concerns of taxpayers about how funds were being allocated, the city of Vancouver provided a statement to the Daily Mail that apologized to the band that details of the arrangement had been made public, “The City deeply regrets the inadvertent disclosure of records and offers our sincerest apologies to [Musqueam].”

“We have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again and will work toward regaining trust through future collaboration,” the city added.

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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