Veterans Hall Of Valour

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Just heard about this... have to make some more inquiries! It sounds wonderful (I'll find out more and pass it on), but the point of the following article tells you SO much about this government...

http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/mcrae_jun7.html

FEDS SHUN OUR HEROES

EARL McRAE -- Ottawa Sun

Tonight, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 19 Canadian war heroes will be the first inductees into the embryonic Veterans Hall Of Valour.

But one person who could have mattered in the project, won't be there, nor was she invited.

What the hell, they're only war veterans, what do they matter?

Is that how you truly feel, Sheila Copps?

You, the minister of Canadian Heritage, daughter of a man you worshipped and who, himself, was a veteran having served with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II?

Does honouring your father's contribution to the freedom we enjoy not matter to you?

You did get the correspondence from the Hall Of Valour's Robert Campbell, didn't you.

It was drawn directly to your personal attention, wasn't it?

The letter of rejection to Campbell from your office creates the impression it was, the line that reads: "The Minister appreciates being advised of your organization's proposed initiative."

But the letter, received only yesterday by Campbell -- six weeks after he was told his written request for funding was given to you -- is not signed by you, but by "Ms. Beverley O'Connell, Senior Arts Consultant, Ontario Regional Office, Department of Canadian Heritage."

Ms. O'Connell, who, in her thumbs-down letter, informs Campbell that the department's Cultural Spaces Canada program that provides funding for proposals such as his "is not accepting new proposals at this time."

With no explanation given.

Bob Campbell wonders, Sheila Copps, if you even saw his proposal, which your Ms. O'Connell suggests you did.

Our veterans deserve better than this, Sheila Copps. Your father Vic was a no-BS scrapper as mayor of Hamilton, and were he alive, he'd tell you if there was one new proposal for which you should make a damn exception, it is this one.

"This government has no shame," says Bob Campbell.

The Veterans Hall Of Valour is a beautiful thing. There is not one like it in Canada. It was Bob Campbell's idea. He is 75 and a retired civil engineer. He was too young for World War II, but -- unlike some we could name -- he cares deeply about our veterans and the constant need to remember and honour them.

In 1998 he decided Canada needed a "hall" to honour all those from its wars in history who earned decorations for valour in combat, along with all those, equally brave, who didn't; a place the public could visit every day of the year.

He put together an impressive board of directors of veterans and non-veterans including such decorated heroes from World War II as Col. Strome Galloway and Flight Lieut. John Patterson, and, unable to get space for the non-profit hall in the expanded Canadian War Museum, secured a deal with Carleton Place to place it in the old heritage building Town Hall, official opening: 2005.

The cost of the project, which includes computer stations, wall-mounted plaques, history books, videos, bookcases, tables, chairs, hundreds upon hundreds of inductee photographs and artist portraits, interior building renovations, highway guide signs, researching citations and mini-biographies, is $240,000, and to date $105,000 has been raised, all through non-government sources such as charitable foundations and individual donors.

You can contribute by making a cheque payable to: Veterans Hall Of Honour, 175 Bridge St., Carleton Place, Ont., KC7 2V8. Charitable tax receipts will be issued.

UNFAIR SITUATION

And if you know of someone, a friend, a relative, whether an officer or non-officer, who was decorated for valour in war, send in writing all information to the hall in care of Bob Campbell.

On Jan. 8, when only $53,000 had been raised, Campbell wrote to Veterans Affairs Minister Rey Pagtakhan outlining the project, breaking down its costs, and requesting a matching grant of $53,000.

In his letter, he said: "By establishing a Veterans Hall Of Valour, we are also engaged in remedying an unfair situation in Canada where we have a Hockey Hall of Fame with artist portraits for persons who are no heroes at all, and none for our real heroes, our veterans. Hockey players who have portraits displayed are just persons who happen to have been born with superior athletic ability, and are not real heroes at all."

On May 23 he got a letter back from Phil Michael, director, national and international memorials, Canada Remembers Division, praising the project, offering education kits and "related material," but: "Regrettably, Veterans Affairs is not funded to support projects of this nature and is therefore unable to provide any financial assistance towards the cost of the Veterans Hall of Valour."

The hall has all the credentials for a grant from Canadian Heritage, but with operational reports out of that department enough to make anybody skittish, Campbell opted for going right to the top, Prime Minister Chretien, in the request for a grant to match what had been raised, figuring the PM would, at the least, direct it to the right, favourable, government operation for facilitation.

He mailed his detailed request to the prime minister on March 27.

His only response was a letter on April 22 signed by somebody in the PMO named Smith "for M. Bredeson, Executive Correspondence Officer" saying he (Smith) had forwarded Campbell's material to Pagtakhan and -- Sheila Copps.

It's right there in the letter to Robert Campbell: "I have taken the liberty of forwarding copies of your correspondence and accompanying documentation to the Honourable Rey Pagtakhan, Minister of Veterans Affairs, and the Honourable Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage." Smith's next line read: "I am certain that the Ministers will also appreciate the opportunity to review this information."

Bob Campbell's letter to Jean Chretien -- forwarded to Copps -- asked for a grant to match the new amount that had been raised by that time, $105,000.

Yesterday, six weeks later, he got his negative response.

Campbell thought Copps herself, being one of the "ministers" referred to, or somebody in her office would get back to him full of enthusiasm for the project and with advice on how to apply for the grant.

The same kind of enthusiasm Copps showed when her office doled out $1 million ($250,000 a year) of taxpayers' money to help finance the oh-so-important "Walk Of Fame," a sidewalk in Toronto honouring the names of Canadian entertainers and athletes. Let's compare deserving heroes, shall we.

Here's something you didn't know, Bob Campbell: The one who lobbied for that grant, the chairman of the Walk Of Fame board, was Peter Soumalias, a wealthy businessman.

Sheila Copps knows him well -- he later became her leadership campaign chief fundraiser.

Bob Campbell: "It's as if nobody cares. It's as if the wars didn't happen. Well, we don't have much use for this government anyway. I guess we aren't surprised, but thought we'd try anyway."