Joly to make ‘prompt decision’ on memorial

New Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, who is responsible for the National Capital Commission, said she was being briefed Thursday afternoon by her deputy minister and hoped to make a decision soon on the controversial Memorial to the Victims of Communism that is planned for a site next to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“I’ll make sure to give a lot of thought to that file, and it’s part of my priorities to take a decision, a prompt decision, on that file,” Joly said after the first caucus meeting of the new Liberal government.

Almost every aspect of the planned memorial has been controversial, from its location on a site long reserved for a Federal Court of Canada building, to the lack of public consultation. to the amount of public money allowed to the project by the former Conservative government. Legal and civic leaders from across the country have spoken out against the memorial.

Tribute to Liberty, the charity formed in 2008 to raise money for the controversial memorial, was to raise $1,261,550 (although government documents show that the group was struggling to reach that target), while the government was to contribute $4.2 million.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna, who’s also MP for Ottawa Centre, said she doesn’t agree with the plans to have the memorial located next to the Supreme Court.

“The location — there was no consultation with that,” McKenna said. “I don’t think that that is an appropriate spot.”