The Never Forgotten Memorial is a strange commemorative project slated for construction in a protected Nova Scotia wilderness, and is set to star an allegorical figure Canadians have never heard of – the so-called “Mother Canada.”
The project – described as a public-private partnership – is causing serious concern among some Canadians for the threat it poses to the surrounding environment, for the perceived lack of transparency in the way it is being hustled by Parks Canada towards approval, and for the impression some have that this is as much an exercise in marketable nationalism as it is an attempt to recognize the ultimate sacrifice.
Mother Canada is the creation of Toronto businessman Tony Trigiani – filling in where our folklore has apparently failed. The figure is to be at the center of the larger Never Forgotten Memorial, which is intended to commemorate those Canadian soldiers who died and lie buried outside of Canada or who were lost at sea. The private Never Forgotten Memorial Foundation is leading the project, with Trigiani as President of its Board of Directors.
