Moncton city council has decided not to rename Robinson Court in honour of an Acadian author.

The matter came up for debate at a council meeting Monday night.

Council announced it was amending the recommendation to rename the court and will instead work with the public to come up with another way to honour Acadian writer Gerald LeBlanc.

The matter will return before council in September.

A downtown Moncton property owner was not happy the issue of renaming Robinson Court was back before council in the first place.

Tim Lyons said the idea was debated at a council meeting in June and he was hoping for public consultation before it returned.

"I don't believe that councillors should be renaming or redefining the culture and fabric of our city without a proper dialogue and discussion on this," he had said before the meeting.

- Tim Lyons

The idea to rename Robinson Court after LeBlanc as part of the city's 125th anniversary was supported at the last meeting by Paul Curtis, a professor in the English Department at the University of Moncton.

He brought letters of support from former lieutenant governor Herménégilde Chiasson and Acadian writer Antonine Maillet.

But Stephen Gallant, who owns property on Robinson Court, argued against the idea, saying William J. Robinson was one of Moncton's true pioneers.

Lyons agreed.

"You cannot honour one person by dishonouring another person," he had said.

"So basically, I think the whole process is flawed and I think it's wrong basically."

Cultural diversity sought

Before the vote, Coun. Pierre Boudreau said no matter what council decided, not everyone would be happy.

But he said he supported the recommendation to rebrand the court by calling it Place Gerald LeBlanc sur Robinson/Gerald LeBlanc Place on Robinson.

Building a vibrant downtown, includes cultural diversity, he said.

"I think by adding a few francophone ... or honouring a few francophone persons or giving a few francophone names on Main Street is a good idea," said Boudreau.

"I make my decisions on every issue with the best long-term interests of the city so I think this is a good move."

Lyons said he'd rather see LeBlanc honoured in another way, perhaps with a plaque.

"I believe that there's other ways to honour Mr. LeBlanc within the park without changing the name of the park," he had said.