On the unanimous advice
of the distinguished military historians of the Valiants
Foundation, fourteen valiant men and women have been chosen to be
honoured for their heroism during five periods of conflict and resolution which marked Canada's road from a seventeenth century European colony to a twentieth century North American nation. Their statues or busts will be placed
on Confederation Square in the heart of the nation's capital, Ottawa. As part of its mandate to make the Capital a symbolic
meeting place for all Canadians, the National Capital Commission (NCC)
manages and provides direction for commemorative monuments of
national significance. As such, the NCC is a key partner for the
Valiants project and has been involved with the project since its
inception. In 2004, the NCC conducted a national design competition
and has been working with the selected design team
of John McEwen and
Marlene Hilton Moore
to develop the
concept. The NCC will continue to guide this project until it is
unveiled and will maintain this commemoration in the future.
Inauguration
On Sunday November 5
at 1 pm, the Valiants Foundation and the government of Canada
invite you to join Governor General Her Excellency Michaėlle
Jean, Mr. Gordon Hamilton Southam and other honourary guests for the
official unveiling ceremony of the Valiants Memorial. The ceremony
will be held on Confederation Square in downtown Ottawa at the
intersection of Elgin and Wellington streets, near the Sappers
Stairs.
As part of Remembrance
Week, partake in this special ceremony that honours the role that
military participation has had on building our great nation.
Canadians are not a
warlike people. Yet when the trumpets sound and the cannons roar, we
have, throughout our history, answered the call. The men and women
memorialized here stand as symbols for a nation shaped by conflict
and strengthened through sacrifice. It is war, as much as peace,
that unites us; for valour knows no bounds. They belong to us all,
these remarkable figures from our past; the Mohawk war chief who
fought to secure a tract of land for his dispossessed people; the
voltigeur who drove back the invaders and saved a city; the Loyalist
housewife who braved the swamps to sound an alarm; the failed real
estate salesman who became our greatest general. In this scattered
land, they provide the glue that holds us together. From the dark
scarps that overlook the Atlantic to the tattered islands in the
Pacific mists, these are the heroes who have helped give us shape
and purpose throughout four centuries. We have been called a cool
people, the product of a frosty environment, and it is true that we
do not indulge in the hot-blooded emotion that distinguishes those
from warmer climes. Overblown celebration is not our style, but we
know, deep in our hearts, that without the hard example provided by
the kind of Canadian remembered here, this country would not dare
call itself a nation.
The Late Pierre
Berton
