Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We appreciate and respect the work of the jury members who evaluated the final design concepts; however, it is clear that the team Stimson design was the one that veterans of the missions and their families felt best represented the bravery, sacrifices and loss of those who served in Afghanistan. The results of the consultation, which are also public, are clear. It's important that we listen to our veterans.
All the documents we've received show the reason the government chose to go with the team Stimson design. The reason is clear. In fact, the minister told us about that in previous meetings a few times and talked about it for almost an hour.
I'll repeat the reason. Veterans Affairs Canada heard from more than 12,000 Canadians about the monument designs. The majority of those who responded were veterans, their families and others who served on the missions, and team Stimson's design best reflected their input. We choose to honour that choice. When it comes to honouring the sacrifice of our veterans, we must listen to them.
Thank you.