Oakville Council Renames Ridgeview Park After Marc Grant

Oakville's town council has voted unanimously to rename Ridgeview Park after Marc Grant, the Ward 5 councillor who represented the neighbourhood for nearly 23 years before his sudden death.

The vote came at the August 10 council meeting, the first one held since Grant died. Flowers and a photograph of him stood at his vacant seat at the council table, and his colleagues spent part of the meeting sharing what they remembered: his sense of humour, his kindness, and his work on food security, transit and local parks.

Grant lived in Ward 5 and spent years pushing for its green spaces, which is why fellow Ward 5 councillor Jeff Knoll said a park was the right way to mark his service. "Marc understood something fundamental about municipal government," Knoll said. "This level of government is personal, it is important, it is meaningful."

Knoll also talked about what the park will go on doing once the sign changes. "Children will play at Marc Grant Park, families will gather there, neighbours will meet there, life in Ward 5 will continue there." He added that he hopes the kids in the neighbourhood end up shortening it to Marc Park, and that Grant would have liked that.