I'm completely mystified by the near-universal negative reaction that Never Forgotten National Memorial 's proposed Mothra Canada war memorial has provoked in my fellow Canadians. Who wouldn't like a tax-payer subsidized 10 storey statue to Mothra on Cape Breton?
Come on, guys. What's your problem? Ecological vandalism? That the monument will ruin "a pristine geological site of peaceful scenic beauty"?
They did an 86 page Detailed Impact Analysis. Ok sure, so it was done by the engineering firm Stantec, who are one of the corporate sponsors listed on the NFNM "Partners and Supporters" page but it's not like they're putting up the world's largest ball of tinfoil or twine on the site.
Here's a nice letter from Chief of Defence Staff General Tom Lawson to project founder Tony Trigiani pledging the help of the Canadian Armed Forces. I didn't know CAF did that.
And just look at the list of Honorary Patrons : JustMin/AG Peter MacKay, Tom D'Aquino, Mila Mulroney, Frank McKenna, Jean Charest, some corps, plus CBC stars Rex Murphy and Peter Mansbridge. Oh wait, Mansbridge was on there last week when I looked but now he isn't, and Rex Murphy is listed as a "Freelance Journalist".
A privately directed enterprise since described by Peter MacKay as a "private-public partnership", the site will feature the names of "Major Gift donors" but not those of the war dead.
From the NFNM website :
"The Never Forgotten National Memorial Foundation has developed recognition opportunities for Major Gift donors at varying levels, for both Canadian and International donors.
As a living, breathing and fully interactive memorial, the Never Forgotten National Memorial will offer ongoing marketing opportunities for individuals and corporate partners."A fitting motto for a war memorial because war has always done exactly that.
Bumped up from comments : Brian Busby quotes :" Naming rights located throughout the Founders Hall and other special areas of the Interpretive Centre will also recognize the contributions of project partners and other major donors."
and then responds : A shame the Ross Rifle Co. is no longer around.
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10 comments:
You've said it all, and just perfectly.
Having visited Vimy Ridge with my wife and daughters a number of years ago, I was overwhelmed by what I witnessed. As a visiting Canadian family we were given what could only be described as a personal tour of appreciation by a young Canadian High school student. All, I might add at no cost to my family. Compare that with our visit to Juno Beach where due to the cost for a family of four, we couldn't afford to go in. We did get to see the walls of plastic plaques on display representing fund raising McDonalds restaurants and other corporate sponsors. The only reason I wanted to make this comparison between the two monuments is that the proposed Cape Breton monument is a "Rip Off" of the Vimy monument placed on a site that does not represent the fallen on sacred ground but more of a blot on a pristine site that should be left well alone, save a few pic nic tables for visitors. Once the corporate sponsor get a hold of the site it won't be long before it takes on a Disney world look and feel complete with a number "Tim's" on the way in.
"We thank all those brave souls who died so that their memory might give us this marketing opportunity."
And more from the Never Forgotten National Memorial Foundation website:
"Additionally, there will be exclusive opportunities for major donors and partners to be recognized in the naming of halls, galleries, and displays throughout the memorial site. All donors to the Foundation will be eligible for a charitable tax receipt."
After all, KPMG must be recognized for its sacrifice and selflessness.
"Come… Be Humbled."
Where does our journey begin? Why in the Founders Hall, of course:
"The facility’s Founders Hall will recognize members of the Founders Club and other generous individuals and organizations who contribute to the creation of the Never Forgotten National Memorial. Naming rights located throughout the Founders Hall and other special areas of the Interpretive Centre will also recognize the contributions of project partners and other major donors. Emphasis, mine.
A shame the Ross Rifle Co. is no longer around.
Mother Canada in the larval stage. Good one.
Media now reporting Mansbridge and CTV’s Lisa LaFlamme and Lloyd Robertson no longer appear on the project’s website list of honorary patrons.
http://www.halifaxer.com/2015/07/06/mother-canada-project-loses-high-profile-supporters/
Perhaps we're just all getting tired of this creeping militarization of Canadian society. We're told to worship the military as having performed military "service", "given of themselves", "sacrificed", etc., etc., rather than to merely describe them as the government employees they are...
Not to mention the free vanity license plates and a plethora of stamps, coins and medals commemorating wars...
I'm all for commemorating our fallen soldiers, but this statue is not the way to go. We should be honouring our veterans and the families of fallen soldiers with pensions and benefits that represent their sacrifice to our country. These should be on scale on what our elected officials receive for their "sacrifice" to our country.
This statue and the way its been brought about is wrong on so many levels.
Holly Stick here:
It turns out the group pushing to build this ugly statue in a national park also hopes to get more public money to build it:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/paulmcleod/who-the-hell-is-going-to-pay-for-the-mother-canada-statue#.kerBwAk7
The #MotherCanada twitter feed continues to entertain & inform, but my favourite cartoon is still that one of the statue as Harper:
http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2015/07/08/mother-harper-statue-is-monument-to-dollars-that-could-have-been-spent-on-veterans-benefits/#.VaBY9vlViko
Also Ralph Surette on several Parks Canada issues:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1298353-surette-as-election-nears-civil-servants-tossing-the-pmo%E2%80%99s-muzzles
Historians are writing interesting stuff about it too:
http://activehistory.ca/2015/07/remembering-and-forgetting-canada-in-cape-breton/
http://activehistory.ca/2015/07/a-recollection-of-the-past-the-never-forgotten-national-war-memorial-project/
Is that a blue eye? Like, "...Under My Skin?"
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