Letter from Councillor Elaine Hnatyshyn to Saskatoon Legion Branch 63 from April 5, 2006, Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee agenda

March 14, 2006


Royal Canadian Legion
315 19th Street East
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7K 0A1


Attention: John Davidson, Chairman, Building Review Committee


Dear Sir:

Thank you for your letter with enclosure dated March 4, 2006, which I received the evening of March 13, 2006.

I was shaken when I read your letter of May 28, 2004, as I had no recollection of having previously seen it. Tuesday morning, March 14, I called the Mayor about the matter and he had no recollection of the letter. I then asked the City Clerk to search the records to see if the letter had been received. To my dismay I discovered your letter was submitted to Executive Committee on June 14, 2004 and the minutes state is was resolved the conditions outlined in the letter were not acceptable. The City Clerk no longer has her notes that may have reflected on any discussion regarding this issue. And I am still shaken by the fact that I cannot recall your said letter or any discussion relating to it. Saving the Legion building and creating a Veterans’ museum was my dream for part of the River Landing development.

Clearly the error is mine and I accept responsibility for my oversight. My public comments with respect to the sale of the Legion Building were made as a consequence of my oversight.

In light of this information, I offer you my apologies for any comments I made that incorrectly conveyed a lack of interest of your part for a Veterans’ Museum. Although we may never have come to an agreement for a joint project, I lament the lost opportunity to develop a lasting tribute to our veterans and their families and to provide a venue to educate our youth on why it is important to remember and recognize the sacrifices that were made by past generations to afford our society the freedoms we enjoy. However, I will continue to pursue this project elsewhere in the city core.

A copy of this correspondence is being sent to all forums in which I commented on this matter. I will seek an avenue to render a public apology to the Legion in the council chamber.

I thank you for bringing this to my attention and I remain,

Your truly,


Elaine Hnatyshyn

Cc
Mayor Don Atchison
City Councillors
Lori Cooligan, Star Phoenix
Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee
Marr Residence Board of Management
Meewasin Valley Authority
The Partnership