Former Brampton mayor Peter Robertson addressed council on Oct. 30 in response to a unanimous decision to rename part of the street carrying his name after Sikh religion founder Guru Nanak.

While glad only a small portion of Peter Robertson Boulevard — where the Guru Nanak Mission Centre Gurudwara is located — will be renamed, the former mayor expressed concern over the city naming streets for religious institutions.

“The precedent of naming a street after a religious institution is problematic and quite dangerous,” Robertson told council on Oct. 30, adding he thinks it could lead to an avalanche of similar requests given the number of religious institutions in the city.

Robertson highlighted the Gore Road as an example, which is home to several religious institutions along its route including St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, the Nanaksar Thath Isher Darbarat Gurdwara and the Hindu Sabha Temple.

“If each one of those has a little section of the Gore Road renamed after their religious institution, it’s going to be quite confusing and you might upset quite a few people in the city of Brampton,” he said.

“In this beautiful city that’s multicultural and very diverse, mixing religion and the day-to-day business of the city or street names can become quite political and not necessary,” added Robertson, who served as mayor from 1991 to 1999.

He suggested council revisit the issue and consider alternatives such as commemorative banners on light posts rather than renaming whole or parts of streets.

The decision to rename the section of Peter Robertson Boulevard between Dixie Road and Great Lakes Road was a controversial one, with members of council saying they fielded several calls from angry and concerned residents.

Despite their and Robertson’s concerns, Mayor Patrick Brown and wards 9 and 10 Coun. Gurpreet Dhillon said they see no problem honouring all religions in this way and listed other streets named after Christian figures and saints.

“We have lots of Christian heritage and recognition in the city,” Brown told Robertson, while also emphasizing the goal wasn’t to diminish the former mayor’s legacy.