By Canadian Press

Veterans Affairs looks for public input on monument for Afghanistan mission

Jan 2, 2020 | 2:49 PM

OTTAWA — The federal government is looking for advice from the public on what a monument to Canada’s 13-year mission in Afghanistan should look like.

An online consultation runs until Jan. 20, seeking direction on whether the monument should be small and intimate or a place for larger public ceremonies commemorating the effort that officially ran from 2001 to 2014.

Another question is whether it should focus on members of the Canadian Armed Forces and others who fought al-Qaida and the Taliban and then tried to rebuild the central Asian country, or families and loved ones who supported them at home, or on the relationship between Canadians and Afghans.

The monument already has a site, near the Canadian War Museum just west of downtown Ottawa.

The area has been the subject of redevelopment efforts for decades and also holds monuments to Canadian firefighters and victims of the Holocaust.

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The monument to the Afghanistan mission is scheduled to be inaugurated in 2023.

It’s separate from a memorial to the Canadians who died in the Afghanistan mission, which is at National Defence Headquarters in an Ottawa suburb.

Contributions to the consultation can be made at canadaremembersafghanistan.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2020.

The Canadian Press