What's in a name? Delta muses switch from 'corporation' to 'city'

Delta, B.C. is proposing to change its name from the Corporation of Delta to the City of Delta — but some residents don't understand why the change has to be made.

Municipal corporations are a common legal term for a governed area and can include cities, counties, towns or villages.

Delta says it's the only one in British Columbia that actually calls itself the Corporation of Delta, without city in its title.

For instance Nelson is officially called the Corporation of the City of Nelson, but just calls itself the City of Nelson publicly.

Delta Councillor Heather King says changing the name from corporation to city is "not a huge deal whatsoever."

She said the move would eliminate confusion and stop people identifying the city as a private business — particularly in the international arena.

"We had our delegation over in Holland and there was obviously a communication break-down," she explained.

"They just couldn't get their heads around the fact that we called ourselves a corporation but we were a government and we were representing a beautiful place called Delta!"

The municipality estimates the renaming process would cost around $5,000 — largely the cost of changing signage and stationery.

'Who cares what somebody in Holland thinks?'

Not everyone is on board with the name change.

Vicki Huntington, the MLA for Delta, said there is no public demand for it.

"I don't know what is stirring this because who cares what somebody in Holland thinks? We think of ourselves as a municipality … Formally, corporation is on our letterhead [but] here's no confusion in Delta."

Huntington said she was also concerned what the change in name would mean for the region's identity.

"Delta is a semi-rural agricultural, fishing community ... We're one of North America's critical ecosystems and we're in a fight for our life to preserve that. We're everything a city is not," she said.

Councillor King said the name change won't change anything about her community of nearly 100,000 people.

"We are who we are. We're not going to change," she said.

"Some people have an idea that a city is a bunch of bustling people and no agricultural land and that couldn't be further from the truth."

Delta residents have until March 31, 2017 to provide public input on this issue.

With files from The Early Edition

To listen to the interview, click on the link labelled Delta muses switch from corporation to city