As reported on iPolitics.ca, the federal government has launched a contest to design the national memorial to Canada’s mission in the Afghanistan war.

The long-delayed monument was first promised by the Conservative government in 2015 and faced years of wrangling over where to build it in downtown Ottawa.

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In June, Veterans Affairs Canada chose a site located in LeBreton Flats and adjacent to the Canadian War Museum.

The national memorial is different from the cenotaph at the Department of National Defence’s new headquarters dedicated to Canadians who died during the conflict.

Its May unveiling prompted outcry after the public and families of the fallen were not notified.

According to the request for proposals published Friday, the national landmark “will be a lasting tribute to the Canadians who served in Afghanistan and those who supported them at home.”

The Department of Canadian Heritage is asking for a “moving and thought-provoking” monument that will provide a space “for individual reflection and collective remembrance while marking a key event in our country’s history.”

The monument’s objectives also include recognizing “the efforts of Canadians in standing together with the Afghan people to help rebuild their country.”

Most of the public won’t be able to offer designs, however, as teams composed of “professional, practising artists, landscape architects, architects and other urban design professionals” only can enter. Each team must be led by a Canadian citizen and include an artist and landscape architect.

The deadline for entries is Jan. 17. Up to five teams will be shortlisted by March 2020.

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