NCC reveals plans for smaller, shorter memorial for victims of communism

The National Capital Commission has unveiled a smaller, less intrusive design for a proposed monument to victims of communism.

The new design for the National Memorial to Victims of Communismwould cover only 37 percent of the approved site between the Supreme Court of Canada and Library and Archives Canada, instead of the previous 60 percent, according to documents made public today at an NCC meeting of its board of directors.

• RELATED:NCC board votes to decontaminatecommunism memorial vote

The redesigned monument would also be only eight metres tall, much shorter than the earlier 14.35 metre-tall design, the documents show.

The general look of the monument remains largelythe same, according to the new design, although with a couple of changes.

The monument's lighting would be softened and would no longer include harsh red lights, the NCC revealed. Also gone would be a statue of an anonymous dead body, to be replaced with a new statue approved by the NCC.

The redesign would also reduce the cost of the memorial, although it would still be over budget by about $400,000, according to Steve Willis,theNCC'sdirector of capital planning.

The NCC has made no indication they plan to discuss changing the location of the controversial monument, which has come under fire from a long list of people and organizations, including Mayor Jim Watson, Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar,and theRoyal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Today's meeting is also expected to include a vote to move ahead with plans to decontaminate that site.

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