Veterans Affairs (VAC) officials said the decision to overturn the government’s hand-picked jury’s decision on the design for the Afghanistan War Memorial “could have a negative impact on the families of fallen soldiers” and “mixed reactions”. Insiders are said to have been concerned that the company would be subject to similar penalties. Department memo obtained by Radio-Canada.
Last June, the ministry selected Indigenous artist Adrian Stimson’s design for the planned $3 million monument. Even though an independent jury appointed by the government chose the design proposed by Team Daust, with support from architects Renee Daust and Luca Fortin. Former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbor.
A 2023 ministry memo shows the government is concerned that subverting its own design selection process could damage the ministry’s reputation.
“Mission veterans may feel disrespected by the lack of due process on behalf of the Government of Canada,” the document says. “The Canadian government could be criticized for not following the procurement process and ignoring the jury’s decision.”
However, the decision to go with Stimson’s design was clearly popular with many veterans. Among them was military historian Lee Windsor, a veteran who was a member of the design jury that was rejected by the VAC.
In an email to senior Veterans Affairs Canada officials obtained by CBC/Radio-Canada under the Access to Information Act, Mr. Windsor said he was pleased with the news.
“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo It could have been!!!!” Windsor wrote last June.
A University of New Brunswick professor told Radio-Canada he could not discuss the secret jury deliberations in 2021. He was one of four on a seven-person jury appointed by Veterans Affairs Canada. Three others come from the world of art and architecture and were selected by the Canadian Heritage Board.
Mr Windsor said he commented on the government’s decision in 2023 as a member of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Memorial Advisory Group.
“The advisory group was adamant that the voices of veterans and the will of veterans are central to determining what the design will be,” he said. “Veterans needed to see themselves in this memorial and feel that their voices were valued and heard.”
The federal government has repeatedly cited unscientific research to justify its contract award to the Stimson Group, arguing that the design was far more popular among Canadians who served in Afghanistan and their families. There is.
Just over 12,000 Canadians responded to the survey, with more than 3,000 identifying themselves as having served in Afghanistan, and another 3,000 saying they were connected to the mission. Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said survey participants chose Stimson’s design by a wide margin.
“Just because it’s not a scientific study doesn’t mean it’s not valid,” Petitpas-Taylor told a parliamentary committee last year.
“We owe a debt to our veterans that can never be repaid, so the least we can do is choose a design that best matches the memorial needs of our veterans and those who served in Afghanistan.” It was limited.”
The design by Team Stimson (four helmets and bulletproof vests draped in a cross around the center of a circular platform) is a candid homage to the Canadian military’s operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. represents.
Meanwhile, the design chosen by a seven-member jury evokes Afghanistan’s long road to democracy, with the memorial placed along a straight line between Ottawa’s War Museum and Parliament.
The memorial aims to commemorate Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, in which 158 Canadian military personnel and seven civilians died. More than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan. Most of them were military personnel, but also included government officials and members of humanitarian organizations.
VAC’s concerns about the controversy turned out to be well-founded. Opposition parties have criticized the government’s response to the project.
“When you see a monument to soldiers and civilians who took part in the Afghanistan war treated like this, it just discredits the whole process and makes it difficult for people to see themselves in this monument. That could mean no,” the Conservatives said. said MP Pierre-Paul Husse.
He said the project was likely ruined by political interference and wanted Team Doust to inherit the contract.
Bloc Quebecois MP Luc Desirettes said Ottawa has two options: give Team D’Aust a contract or start over.
“Veterans went to Afghanistan to fight for democracy and peace… but the government couldn’t even respect its own rules. Their process is not democratic,” he said.
The federal government offered Team Doust more than $30,000 in compensation last year. The company is not accepting money and is still trying to win contracts.
Stimson said in an email that he did not want to comment on the selection process. He said he recently visited the site in Ottawa where the memorial will be built.