A view of the Peace Tower is framed by the space between the walls, evoking the promise of democracy. Team Daoust says they were inspired the Leonard Cohen lyrics: ?There is a crack in everything / That?s how the light gets in.?
The federal government changed the final design choice for a proposed monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, but Ottawa did not consult with veterans to see if they felt the situation warranted a change.
The monument is meant to “pay tribute to the commitment and sacrifice of Canadians in helping to rebuild Afghanistan,” according to its vision statement, but the government rejected the first design chosen by a jury and selected another option. The Veterans’ Affairs Committee has already been studying the issue, but just before Christmas Conservative MP Blake Richards, frustrated with the lack of answers from the government, introduced a motion to order the government to hand over more documents to explain its decision.
“All we know is that the Prime Minister’s Office has interfered in this process that has delayed, at the very minimum, the construction of this monument,” Richards said at a committee meeting Dec. 21.
NDP MP Rachel Blaney said she will support the motion at a future meeting.
“We want these monuments to honour the people who worked hard, who sacrificed so much, and now there’s a whole bunch of questions and the government ...