Calls to rename Paul Haggis Park after new allegations surface

There are calls for London city council to consider removing Paul Haggis’s name from a park in south London, Ont.

It follows news out of Italy on Sunday that the London-born filmmaker is under investigation for allegations he sexually assaulted a woman in southern Italy.

The park was named for Haggis in 2011. But in 2018 there were calls to have his name removed following similar allegations from four separate women.

At the time council chose not to act.

“Council should be revisiting, 100 per cent,” said Jennifer Dunn, the executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre. “I mean, there’s a pillar in London’s strategic plan to create a safe London for women and girls. So we need to think about all of that.”

Director Paul Haggis poses in Toronto during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, September 6, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese)The calls follow city council’s decision last week to have staff remove the name of the late Trooper Mark Wilson from a street and park. The move came after revelations that Wilson pleaded guilty to a court martial in 2004 to assaulting a woman in Quebec.

London Mayor Ed Holder issued the following statement to CTV News London on the Haggis allegations and the city’s policy of naming municipal streets and amenities after people:

"These allegations are very serious, and troubling. Unlike where Trooper Wilson was concerned, at this time we have neither a guilty plea, nor the results of a legal proceeding to help inform our next course of action. Regardless, I think this is yet another example why naming landmarks after people is an exercise fraught with risk. I applaud this Council for previously directing staff to review policies which govern the naming of streets and other public amenities. That work is actively underway, and a report is expected back shortly after the swearing-in of the next Council.”

City councillor Elizabeth Peloza, in whose ward Paul Haggis Park is located, said she’s open to discussions about changing the name.

“Absolutely, definitely concerned that this is not the first concern we’ve heard about this individual, and look at how we do things better going forward, and then fixing historical issues,” she said.

Fanshawe College said it will review its associations with Haggis, while the Thames Valley District School Board said its Haggis connections — including a scholarship in his name — will come up in a formal review of all of its names and associations.

Haggis’s lawyer is quoted as saying he is innocent and cooperating with authorities.