Winnipeg war monument slated for move to Field of Honour, despite social media fears
Statue's move to Brookside Cemetery going ahead this fall despite photo showing statue beside other debris
A war monument that graced Winnipeg's Portage and Main intersection for a century is expected to once again be prominently displayed in the fall, despite a recent uproar on social media suggesting the statue was being discarded.
The Manitoba Métis Federation says the statue is scheduled to be moved this fall to the Field of Honour in Brookside Cemetery, which was created for the internment of veterans returning from the war.
The monument, which depicts the figure of a Canadian First World War soldier, had stood outside the former Bank of Montreal building at Portage and Main since 1923.
It was removed to make way for construction work so the intersection could be reopened to pedestrians in June.
The statue's relocation was announced last year, but some people on social media wondered if the plan was scrapped after a photo circulated this week that seemingly shows the statue in an outdoor property beside debris.
However, MMF says the statue is being kept in a storage facility yard, not a junkyard.
The federation explained that, based on the angle of the photo, the overgrowth and rusted items that are seemingly beside the statue aren't in the same yard.
"Due to the size and weight of the monument and based on the expert guidance we were given, we agreed to have it stored outdoors, wrapped in protective coverings. We understand that it was recently and temporarily unwrapped while the storage facility made some adjustments to its yard," MMF spokesperson Kat Patenaude said in a statement.
She added MMF "fully intends" to follow through on its commitment to relocate the statue to the cemetery.
Public ceremony planned
That's scheduled for the fall, "pending the finalization of the donation agreement with the City of Winnipeg," Patenaude said.
She said a public ceremony will be held.
MMF acquired the statue when it bought the former Bank of Montreal building on the southeast corner of Portage and Main in 2020. The monument honours the 231 Bank of Montreal employees across Canada who died in the war.
Last year, a city report said MMF agreed to give the statue to the city as a gift, including covering the costs of relocation. The property and development committee voted unanimously in favour of moving the monument, which will now belong to the city.