Saskatchewan Town Will No Longer Be Known as the ‘Land of Rape and Honey’

After 60 years, the northeastern town of Tisdale, Saskatchewan has decided it no longer wants to be known as the "land of rape and honey."

The agricultural community, located about 200 km northeast of Saskatoon, first employed the slogan as a nod to its abundance of rapeseed crops and a giant 16-foot honey bee statue. But over the years the town has been given grief over the phrase because its inspiration isn't readily obvious—and instead comes off as some sort of a disgusting homage to sexual assault.

Last year, Tisdale council voted to change to slogan and today officials unveiled the new one: "Opportunity grows here."

In a statement, Sean Wallace, the town's director of economic development, said "our survey, our focus groups and the advice that we received from industry experts indicated it was time for an update."

It is somewhat concerning that so many layers of consultation were needed to determine "land of rape and honey" is a problematic motto.

Officials have said the new slogan also recognizes Tisdale's "agricultural tradition." It's unlikely that that many people will remember it, but that's still a big improvement.

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