Thank you for your question, Mr. Casey.
I think it has to be acknowledged that it's only to be expected, when the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning for a new monument, that it should establish a jury. As the project proponent, the department also has to always plan for a consultation period. You can call it a survey, a questionnaire, or a consultation, but we wanted to hear what veterans thought about it. A jury was selected and we thanked its members for the work they did. They worked tirelessly. At the outset, 25 groups submitted different designs. The jury worked hard on winnowing down the number of applicants to eventually come up with a list of five finalists, which is what we had asked them for.
We then began the survey process. We wanted to hear what veterans, and Canadians from coast to coast, thought about it. We also wanted to have proper representation from veterans, both women and men, as well as from the families of those who had served on this mission. To do so, the Department of Veterans Affairs sent out messages through My VAC Account. As members of this committee, you are no doubt fully aware of that. We did it to make sure that people knew there was a survey.
We also contacted families who had lost a loved one during the Afghanistan mission. We sent a message to a group of facilitators who were working with veterans to make sure that the message would get out. To our great surprise, as I said, we received twice as many responses as usual for survey questionnaires of this kind. More than 10,000 people responded. A jury combined with a survey is the normal practice. What was unusual in this specific case was that the survey and the jury went in opposite directions. When we looked at the survey results, we found that between 52% and 62% of respondents chose the Stimson submission, while only 23% to 40% preferred the one selected by the jury, the Daoust team design.
To answer your question about Quebec, it's important to point out that the vast majority of Quebeckers who responded to the survey also supported the Stimson design. Veterans told us that this design provided a better depiction of bravery, sacrifice, loss, and the role of the family.
As the Minister of Veterans Affairs, I felt it was very important to make sure that we were going to listen to veterans. We really wanted to factor in the needs and opinions of veterans in creating the national monument to Canada's mission in Afghanistan. That's why we made this decision.
As Canada's Minister of Veterans Affairs, I take full responsibility for my decision to listen to our veterans. That's my priority. That then is precisely what we did and why we did it.