The pressure is not letting up on the Ministers of Heritage and Veterans Affairs to honor the jury’s choice in the competition to provide Ottawa with a monument commemorating the Canadian intervention in Afghanistan (2001-2014).
Around thirty specialists and professionals from various artistic fields (including artists) who have served on public art juries and scholarship juries wrote to the two ministers to say they were “dismayed that the Government of Canada is ignoring the rules that he himself established.
Ministers Pascale St-Onge (Heritage) and Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Veterans) are also called to appear this Tuesday before the Standing Committee on Veterans of the House of Commons to discuss the competition related to the monument. This will be Minister Petitpas Taylor’s second visit this month and the first for Ms.me St-Onge.
The competition launched in 2019 was won by a Montreal team composed of the artist Luca Fortin, the Daoust Lestage architectural firm Lizotte Stecker and Louise Arbor, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The criteria and terms of the competition had been defined by the two ministries.
However, the decision of the jurors of arts professionals and military personnel was overturned in light of the results of online consultations with thousands of veterans, their loved ones and other citizens. This approach was, however, deemed unscientific by an analysis produced by the Léger survey firm.
The government ultimately chose the proposal from veteran artist Adrian Stimson and Toronto-based architectural group MBTW. The Daoust-Fortin-Arbour team was notified of the rejection of the selection two hours before the official announcement of the federal choice, on June 19, 2023.
Credibility and transparency
“The circumstances leading to the current situation, particularly the incredible imbroglio of June 19, risk undermining the confidence not only of the arts and culture community, but also that of the Canadian population, who legitimately expect this that transparency constitutes the essential value of honest management,” says the letter addressed to the two ministers whose The duty got a copy. “Consequently, we ask the Government of Canada and your two departments to return to the committee’s initial choice, while respecting the established rules. »
The analysis adds that by respecting its rules, Ottawa would ensure the participation of the artistic community in its next projects. Mme Arbor went even further, saying the government’s credibility is at stake for all tenders.
The letter dated October 27 is notably signed by the artists Danielle April and Dominique Blais. We also find the names of professionals in the field, university gallery directors Louise Déry (UQAM) and Laurent Vernet (UdeM) and art historians Sylvie Lacerte and Annie Gérin.
Lawyer François Le Moine, co-chair of the Permanent Commission on Public Art of the organization Culture Montréal, is among the signatories. “We cannot devalue the expertise and work of juries and prefer the discretionary opinion of a politician,” he said in an interview. Surveys can obviously be part of the process — and we understand that the jury took this into account — but the final word must belong to the jury. »
He adds that the construction of a monument requires perspective and that viewing quality works takes a longer time. He then quotes Proust: “The beauties that we discover the earliest are also those that we tire of the quickest. [parce] that they differ less from what we already knew. »
The Regroupement des artistes en artsvisuals also wrote to Minister Pascale St-Onge and launched its own petition on September 6, now with around 1,650 names out of a target of 2,500. The text affirms that the decision not to respect the choice of the jury “is in no way justifiable and is in complete contradiction with the initial commitment”, in addition to raising concerns “about the credibility of the competition”. The petition urges the ministry to provide clear and transparent explanations regarding the controversial decision.
Minister Petitpas Taylor’s communications department did not want to comment on the letter before its appearance at the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. Minister St-Onge did not respond to the request for reactions from the Duty.