The committee resumed consideration of the motion, as amended, of Blake Richards moved on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, which read as follows:

That, in relation to its study on the National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan, the committee

(a) Invite the Deputy Commander of Military Personnel, Lieutenant-General Lise Bourgon; and

(b) Order the production of all memoranda, briefing notes, e-mails, correspondence or any other records of conversations or communications (including text messages, Microsoft Teams messages, WhatsApp messages, Signal messages or other electronic messaging), with regard to the National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan, transmitted, since May 1, 2014, between

(i) the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs,

(ii) the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage,

(iii) the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Privy Council Office,

(iv) the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Privy Council Office, (v) the Privy Council Office and the Office of the Prime Minister,

(vi) the Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister, and

(vii) the Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Office of the Prime Minister, provided that these documents shall be provided to the clerk of the committee, in both official languages and without redaction, within 21 days of the adoption of this motion.

(c) That the committee invite the Hon. Erin O’Toole, former minister of Veterans Affairs, to respond to questions about the selection of Richmond Landing site in 2014 for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, and specifically why Veterans were not properly consulted.

(d) And that the Department of Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage provide the official report of the jury established for the selection of the firm responsible for the design of the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan.

e) That the committee write a letter to the National Capital Commission (NCC) in regards to their role in the construction of the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan to assure the committee that the project will respect established deadlines and that Afghanistan war veterans who wish to see the monument built quickly will not experience additional delays; that, if the response is not satisfactory to the members of the committee, then the NCC officials responsible be asked to appear before the committee for no more than one meeting.

That the letter that the committee sends to the CCN requests the following information: (i) What is the contractually prescribed building time? (ii) What is the currently estimated building time by the NCC architect and project manager? (iii) The design is said to be more complex than usual for monuments in the National Capital Region (NCR). What are the complexities of the design, and what is the impact that they estimate it will have on the construction cost and timelines? (iv) What are the steps and milestones that have been planned for this construction project? (v) What is the current status of the project and concrete steps in construction? (vi) What risks have been identified for this construction project?

and of the amendment of Lisa Hepfner moved on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, which read as follows:

That the motion be amended by deleting, in paragraph (b), sections (iii) through (vii) and by adding, after paragraph (e), the following: “(f) That once the committee receives the aforementioned information from the bodies outlined in point (b) and (d) and receives testimony from the witnesses identified in point (a) and (c), the committee discuss whether to request such information between: (i) the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Privy Council Office; (ii) the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Privy Council Office; (iii) the Privy Council Office and the Office of the Prime Minister; (iv) the Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister, and (v) the Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Office of the Prime Minister."

The debate continued.

At 12:13 p.m., Luc Desilets took the Chair.

At 12:15 p.m., Emmanuel Dubourg took the Chair.

At 12:37 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 115(5), it was agreed that the committee continue to sit.