Why residents in Canadian town want to change its name
Canada has no shortage of towns with unusual names: Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan, Medicine Hat in Alberta, Dildo in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Swastika in Ontario are just a few.
But for many in the town of Asbestos in the French-speaking province of Quebec their name has become too toxic.
Locals gathered for consultations with council members on Thursday (local time) to map out the process of getting a new name.
The community of about 7000, located 170 kilometres east of Montreal, is named after the minerals that were mined there since the late 19th century.
For nearly a century, the town produced much of the world's asbestos, which is now widely banned because it's considered toxic.
The negative connotations of the town's name has hampered efforts to attract much-needed investment to Asbestos, which has fallen on hard times since it shut its mine in 2011, Mayor Hugues Grimard has argued.
Mr Grimard has launched a public relations campaign to convince citizens the makeover begins with a name change.
"This is a difficult decision; the choice was not easy but a multitude of factors pointed in this direction," the mayor said in November when he announced the consultation process.
It was by thinking of future generations that officials decided in favour of a name change, he said.
The new name is expected to be announced later this year.
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