residential school monument to be given pride of place on parliament hill
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the indian residential schools national monument will be placed on the west terrace of west block on parliament hill.
jean levac
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postmedia
canada’s indian residential schools national monument (first nations, métis and inuit) will have pride of place on the western terrace of parliament hill with a commanding view of the ottawa river.
the monument will be “a contemplative space to remember, honour, educate, heal, and reconcile, and will speak to the country and the world for centuries to come,” according to the national capital commission, which revealed the placement at its jan. 23 board meeting.
a national monument was the 81st of 94 calls to action from the truth and reconciliation commission in 2015. its report called for a publicly accessible, highly visible monument in ottawa to “honour survivors and all the children who were lost to their families and communities.”
the motion was moved by ncc board member norm odjick of maniwaki, director general of the algonquin anishinabeg nation. odjick said he knew many people who had endured the residential school system.
“there was a lot of people i grew up with and looked up to and seeing them still going through that was very difficult,” odjick said. “i’m very pleased with the prominence of the space that was chosen. if it can bring them any kind of peace, i’m very happy to move this motion.”
the site of the indian residential schools national monument (first nations, metis and inuit) is on the western flank of parliament hill as marked in red on this national capital commission illustration.
ncc
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postmedia
the ncc analyzed 16 potential sites and shortlisted nine of them before choosing the preferred site, which was selected by a steering committee led by residential school survivors. the project is budgeted at $20 million and the entire process will be “grounded in indigenous values,” the ncc said.
the monument site is just west of the mackenzie tower of west block and is currently used as parking for the house of commons. an existing statue of sir robert borden, canada’s eighth prime minister, at the south end of the site will have to be moved.
a design team and concept will be chosen this fall and short-listed teams will submit designs for the monument in the summer of 2026. construction is to begin in 2027 with an inauguration expected in 2028.
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the ncc also approved a site for a second monument at thursday’s board meeting. a new national monument for paramedics is to be located in commissioner’s park at dow’s lake.
that monument “to celebrate paramedics and honour those who have fallen in the line of duty” will be a short walk from the new site of the ottawa hospital now under construction. the project will be funded by the canadian paramedic memorial foundation and has an estimated budget of between $3 million and $5 million.
canada has about 40,000 paramedics.
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