The Memorial to the Victims of Communism is on ice -- for now.

According to a letter from National Capital Commission CEO Mark Kristmanson released on Thursday, the controversial memorial won't come before the NCC board for final approval until mid-November.

The delay is a surprising concession from the federal government. I've been part of a group of architects advocating against the memorial's planned location adjacent the Supreme Court.

Up to this point, the government has been insisting that the design could be approved by mid-August, with major elements of the memorial in place by the fall.

But have we seen the last of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism? It all depends on the fall election results.

If the Liberals or NDP end up in power, either in majority or in coalition, there's a good chance the controversial memorial project will be shelved.

NDP MP Paul Dewar and Liberal candidate Catherine McKenna, who are competitors for the Ottawa Centre seat, have been outspoken critics of the project.

In particular, they've challenged the way that Conservative leaders commandeered a prominent Confederation Boulevard site -- originally designated for a federal court building -- for the project.

However, if the Conservatives return to power, the monument may yet be pushed through.

After all, it's had thinly disguised political motives from the beginning -- and the Grits would want to reward the electoral segment the project was designed to woo.

Over the summer, a pending lawsuit has prevented construction from starting on the site.

The lawsuit challenges the NCC's decision to break ground on the site, despite not having a final approved design.

The legal action has been critical in delaying the project, says lawyer Paul Champ, who is leading the suit.

"The site was staked out, ready to begin digging, the day after the NCC approved decontamination of the soil," he says.

The court filing stopped the excavation in its tracks. Moreover, the lawsuit had a role in "increasing public awareness and increasing scrutiny about the wisdom of the decision (to proceed with breaking ground)," says Champ.

If the Conservatives win a majority and the memorial is hastily approved in the fall, the four litigants would seriously consider filing a second lawsuit challenging whether the project is proceeding according to due process.

"There still has not been anything like a proper public consultation about this project," says Champ.

Champ says that such a consultation must include both local residents and a broader national community.

"All Canadians should have a say when such a dramatic change to the Capital, on key sites such as this one, is proposed."

Architect Shirley Blumberg, one of litigants, agrees.

"There was huge pressure to have this memorial built before the election, and a fast-tracked process that excluded public stakeholders from the conversation," she says.

"Hopefully, when this comes back to the NCC in November, the NCC and the government will be open to more public engagement in this issue."

So far, the informal engagement of Canadian citizens -- in polls, blogs, petitions, radio shows, and responses to newspaper articles on the memorial -- have pointed clearly in one direction.

On the whole, Canadians don't want this memorial. By the end of the year, if respect for democracy and the electorate prevail, the project should be relegated to the dustbin for good.

-- Elsa Lam is the editor of Canadian Architect magazine, and an opponent of the currently proposed site for the memorial.