QUESTION PERIOD — Veterans Affairs
National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan
September 25, 2024
Leader, it’s been over a decade since former prime minister Stephen Harper announced the creation of a national monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. Since then, the construction of this memorial has been badly mismanaged by the NDP‑Trudeau government. Last year, the government politically interfered in the procurement process and overturned the design chosen by a jury. NDP MPs later voted with Liberal MPs to shut down a House of Commons committee investigation into this scandal.
Leader, the Minister of Veterans Affairs has recently indicated that construction of the national monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan will not begin until spring of 2025. Is it still on track to be unveiled in 2027?
Thank you for your question.
I’ve answered questions about this in the past, so, respectfully, it is not the position of the government that this is a scandal. You will recall, senators — but for those, perhaps, who weren’t here or don’t remember the exchange that we had — that the decision was ultimately made, notwithstanding the good work of the jury, to choose a different design that was preferred by the veterans of the mission and their families.
With regard to the timetable of the construction, I will certainly raise this with the responsible minister, but, at this juncture, I’m not able to address the exact date of completion of this project.
In June 2023, a response to a written question tabled in the Senate showed that almost $435,000 — or about 10% of the project’s overall budget — had already been spent without putting one shovel in the ground.
Leader, we know the monument is not on time, but is it within budget? How much has been spent to date?
The fact that funds are expended before shovels are in the ground is fairly conventional for projects of any size but certainly for one of this nature. Until construction begins, I think any estimation of costs would be premature.
