Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Renée Daoust. I am an architect and urbanist and am responsible for Team Daoust, which consists of Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker, Luca Fortin and Louise Arbour. We are the winning team of the national monument to Canada's mission in Afghanistan competition, the team that was selected by the jury and the only one that should prevail here.
Thank you for this opportunity to finally make our voices heard and to condemn the egregious lack of ethics associated with the organization of this international-level Canadian competition. We have never witnessed a similar situation in our 35‑year career.
Today I would like to discuss an undemocratic and unfair process, one that was unjust for the veterans and civilians who took part in Canada's mission in Afghanistan. How ironic it is that the government has involved all those military members who were mobilized and sent to defend and establish democracy in Afghanistan in the worst undemocratic process in the history of competitions in Canada. Although the process was a disgrace for our Canadian veterans—whom you instrumentalized by linking them to a sham survey conducted under obscure rules—those veterans were motivated by four major military values, including integrity.
The process was also unfair for the jury. Remember that four of the seven jury members, the majority, were associated with the mission in Afghanistan and its history. The voice of the Afghanistan experts was heard. It was carried by a veteran, a National Memorial Cross Mother, a former ambassador and a historian. The jury performed meticulous work, consulted the technical reports and the results of the sham survey and confirmed that our team was the winner.
You failed to act on the jury's recommendation, thus causing a major breach of contract and waste of public funds. That situation has created a dangerous precedent in the development of public art and architecture in Canada and the management of requests for proposals in general.
We are particularly confused by the way this unfair process, which undermines our democratic traditions, has been endorsed by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Capital Commission. Is this ethically tainted cultural legacy really what we want to promote nationally and internationally and for future generations?
Out of respect for the memory of our veterans, on November 11, the government should make amends, abide by its own ground rules and uphold the democratic process that is fundamental to the history of competitions in Canada.
Thank you.