- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,227
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 0
A new military memorial in Ottawa to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan is behind schedule, raising doubts about whether it will be completed as planned for Canada’s sesquicentennial in 2017.
The ministerial briefing book for Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly describes the memorial as “a high profile commemoration” and says the department plans to launch a national design competition in the fall of 2015.
But Canadian Heritage, which is managing the project on behalf of Veterans Affairs Canada, confirmed this week that no design competition has yet been announced. The department was tight-lipped about the project’s timetable, saying only that further details will be provided “in due course.”
Veteran’s Affairs, the project lead, was similarly vague, saying more information about the memorial and other commemorative initiatives “will be available in the coming months.”
Memorial will be on the shore of the Ottawa River, just east of the Portage Bridge.
Plans for the memorial were first announced in May 2014 by Julian Fantino, then minister of veterans affairs. They were re-announced a year later by his successor, Erin O’Toole, along with plans for a new memorial to Canadian winners of the Victoria Cross.
Beyond the fact that it will be placed at Richmond Landing, on the banks of the Ottawa River just east of the Portage Bridge, very little information about the planned memorial has been revealed publicly.
However, a staff report submitted to an in-camera meeting of the National Capital Commission‘s board of directors last January — released to the Citizen by the NCC this week — contains heretofore secret details about the project, most notably its total budget of up to $5 million.
That puts the memorial’s cost in the same range as that of the controversial Memorial to the Victims of Communism, though its 800-square-metre site is one-sixth the size of the Wellington Street location selected by the previous Conservative government for the victims of communism memorial.
According to a timetable in the NCC report, the first phase of the design competition for the memorial was to have taken place last spring, with the second phase this fall, selection of a winning design next spring and an unveiling in 2017.
The NCC report describes the memorial as an “Order 2” commemoration, NCC-speak for sites along Confederation Boulevard that commemorate people, events and ideas of national symbolic importance.
“The memorial is intended to provide a place of pilgrimage and reflection, to encourage public appreciation and understanding of the significance of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, and to allow public activities such as remembrance events,” the report says.
The NCC document also reveals that the Crown corporation’s board gave federal land use approval for two different sites for the memorial during its in-camera meeting last January.
In addition to the selected site at Richmond Landing, the board also approved an alternate location: a 1,100-square-metre triangle of land at the western entrance to the Mackenzie King Bridge, surrounded by Elgin, Albert and Slater streets.
NCC staff said the “Mackenzie King Bridge Triangle” site’s elevated position and location would enhance the new memorial’s visibility. The site also has “strong thematic links” to the National War Memorial and several military-themed commemorations in Confederation Park, the submission says.
But the site’s location above the National Arts Centre’s underground parking garage “imposes significant technical constraints,” it notes. The property isn’t owned by the NCC and larger gatherings at the memorial might require road closures.
While the bridge site is listed in the NCC’s inventory of potential commemorative sites, the chosen site at Richmond Landing is not, the staff submission says. “However, it features several characteristics which make it appropriate for such a use.”
Among other things, it’s close to the Royal Canadian Navy Monument and features views to the Peace Tower, the report says. The NCC owns it and adjacent green space could provide room for occasional large gatherings.
The biggest negative is that the site is believed to be contaminated, it says, adding that the project budget will need to include a contingency for an environment site assessment and soil and groundwater management plans.
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
查看原文...
The ministerial briefing book for Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly describes the memorial as “a high profile commemoration” and says the department plans to launch a national design competition in the fall of 2015.
But Canadian Heritage, which is managing the project on behalf of Veterans Affairs Canada, confirmed this week that no design competition has yet been announced. The department was tight-lipped about the project’s timetable, saying only that further details will be provided “in due course.”
Veteran’s Affairs, the project lead, was similarly vague, saying more information about the memorial and other commemorative initiatives “will be available in the coming months.”
Memorial will be on the shore of the Ottawa River, just east of the Portage Bridge.
Plans for the memorial were first announced in May 2014 by Julian Fantino, then minister of veterans affairs. They were re-announced a year later by his successor, Erin O’Toole, along with plans for a new memorial to Canadian winners of the Victoria Cross.
Beyond the fact that it will be placed at Richmond Landing, on the banks of the Ottawa River just east of the Portage Bridge, very little information about the planned memorial has been revealed publicly.
However, a staff report submitted to an in-camera meeting of the National Capital Commission‘s board of directors last January — released to the Citizen by the NCC this week — contains heretofore secret details about the project, most notably its total budget of up to $5 million.
That puts the memorial’s cost in the same range as that of the controversial Memorial to the Victims of Communism, though its 800-square-metre site is one-sixth the size of the Wellington Street location selected by the previous Conservative government for the victims of communism memorial.
According to a timetable in the NCC report, the first phase of the design competition for the memorial was to have taken place last spring, with the second phase this fall, selection of a winning design next spring and an unveiling in 2017.
The NCC report describes the memorial as an “Order 2” commemoration, NCC-speak for sites along Confederation Boulevard that commemorate people, events and ideas of national symbolic importance.
“The memorial is intended to provide a place of pilgrimage and reflection, to encourage public appreciation and understanding of the significance of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, and to allow public activities such as remembrance events,” the report says.
The NCC document also reveals that the Crown corporation’s board gave federal land use approval for two different sites for the memorial during its in-camera meeting last January.
In addition to the selected site at Richmond Landing, the board also approved an alternate location: a 1,100-square-metre triangle of land at the western entrance to the Mackenzie King Bridge, surrounded by Elgin, Albert and Slater streets.
NCC staff said the “Mackenzie King Bridge Triangle” site’s elevated position and location would enhance the new memorial’s visibility. The site also has “strong thematic links” to the National War Memorial and several military-themed commemorations in Confederation Park, the submission says.
But the site’s location above the National Arts Centre’s underground parking garage “imposes significant technical constraints,” it notes. The property isn’t owned by the NCC and larger gatherings at the memorial might require road closures.
While the bridge site is listed in the NCC’s inventory of potential commemorative sites, the chosen site at Richmond Landing is not, the staff submission says. “However, it features several characteristics which make it appropriate for such a use.”
Among other things, it’s close to the Royal Canadian Navy Monument and features views to the Peace Tower, the report says. The NCC owns it and adjacent green space could provide room for occasional large gatherings.
The biggest negative is that the site is believed to be contaminated, it says, adding that the project budget will need to include a contingency for an environment site assessment and soil and groundwater management plans.
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
查看原文...
