Leave the cenotaph where it is, Whitehorse man pleads
'If it's not visible then what is the point?' asks Michael Janssen-Breidahl
A Whitehorse man is pleading with city council to leave the cenotaph where it is.
The city is considering moving the war memorial to Pioneer Cemetery. It's part of a federally funded proposal to refurbish the historic graveyard. The re-location project has the support from the Yukon Legion, the Yukon RCMP veterans, and the Yukon Order of Pioneers.
But Michael Janssen-Breidahl insists the cenotaph's prominent location at City Hall is the only place for a war memorial.
"If it's not visible then what is the point?" he asked.
"The city hall location for a Remembrance Day cenotaph is symbolically important for a number of reasons. The Pioneer Cemetery, by contrast, is a backwater."
Janssen-Breidahl called the proposal misguided, telling city councillors that safety concerns about the limited space at City Hall could easily be mitigated by closing 2nd Avenue for special occasions.
After lengthy discussion city councillors voted to make the funding application as planned.
They say there is still plenty of time to reconsider plans to move the cenotaph.