No. Choosing a different name would be a separate process of public engagement with city residents and Tla’amin Nation. The language of the name has not been decided. Right now we are focused on exploring whether the City of Powell River should change its name, not what the name will be.

Who was Powell? Didn’t Powell build the mill?

Israel Powell was the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia from 1872-1889. He was not involved in the Powell River Mill Company, and there is no record of him ever visiting Powell River. Read more about Israel Powell.

What will it cost me to update my ID and address if there is a name change? (Source: Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Government of BC)

BC Drivers License/BC ID: This is free and done through the phone, in-person or online. An address change sticker is sent out.
Business registry (businesses and societies): It costs $15 to update the Registered Office information for a society and $20 to update the Registered and Records Office information for a company.
Passport/Birth Certificate: There is no need to update your address as a change of address does not invalidate your passport.
Canada Post: Municipally initiated address changes are free.
Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA): Costs associated with land title updates are free/automatic; the LTSA updates their database after being notified by the municipality.

How much will this process cost? How will this impact my taxes?

The City of Powell River Council and Tla’amin Nation each allocated $20,000 to provide project funding to support this public engagement process. Additional funding will be provided by grants and other sources of funding that may contribute to project costs. There will be no impact to taxes from the engagement.

If City Council decides to move forward with name change:

Costs for implementing a name change for other jurisdictions have ranged from approximately $50,000 to $100,000. Costs can generally be incurred as part of existing budgets or spread out over a number of years as items and supplies required replacing