Dear Members of the Board of Directors of Tribute to Liberty – Ludwik Klimkowski, Alide Forstmanis, Teresa Berezowski, Christine Dang, Ivan Grbesic, Paul Grod, Markus Hess, Robert Tmej, Byong Gil (Ron) Suh:
We, the undersigned, respectfully ask your group to reconsider the construction of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism at its current location near the Supreme Court of Canada.
More than six decades of long-term planning and public consultation, together with millions of tax dollars, have reserved this nationally significant site for a federal courthouse that would frame a square centred on the Supreme Court. This judicial triad of buildings parallels the parliamentary triad surrounding Parliament Hill.
The pillars of our democracy rest on our parliament and our courts. Their physical presence – in the form of the parliamentary and judicial precincts of our national capital – represent Canada's history, aspirations and democracy. This is our commonwealth and it belongs to all Canadians.
From an outside perspective, the current site was allocated to your group without the public consultation or engagement that such a decision merits. We know that you value Canada's commitment to democracy, and believe you will recognize that this lack of due public process and disregard for decades of long-term planning is hardly democratic.
As concerned Canadians, we urge you to find a more appropriate site for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism.
We trust that the widespread public outcry about the planned location for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism is a matter of the utmost concern to you. Given the serious nature of that which you plan to commemorate, and for the sake of all Canadians, we ask that you honour the long-standing vision and plan for the judicial precinct, and that you find an alternate site to proceed with this project.
Signed, Council for Canadian Urbanism Canadian Institute of Planners Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Heritage Ottawa RAIC/Architecture Canada
Robert Allsopp, FCSLA
George Baird, FRAIC RCA
Shirley Blumberg, CM FRAIC
Edward Burtynsky, OC RCA
Jack Diamond, CC FRAIC RCA
Jack Granatstein, OC FRSC
Dan Hanganu, CM FRAIC RCA
Bruce Kuwabara, OC FRAIC RCA
Cornelia Oberlander, OC Hon. MRAIC RCA
Michael Ondaatje, OC FRSC
Vincent Lam, MD
Gabor Maté, MD
Marianne McKenna, OC FRAIC
John Michaluk
Raymond Moriyama, CC FRAIC RCA
Barry Padolsky, FRAIC RCA
John Patkau, CM FRAIC RCA
Patricia Patkau, CM FRAIC RCA
Brigitte Shim, CM FRAIC RCA
Howard Sutcliffe, CM FRAIC RCA
Bing Thom, CM FRAIC RCA