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No press release was sent out.

No family members of the 159 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in that country were invited, or any of the 1,800 who were wounded.

The Canadian Forces didn’t even announce that the memorial hall, the soldier-built memorial as its centrepiece, had been opened until three days after the ceremony, on May 16.

This was done via “the Canadian Armed Forces Operations” official Facebook page.

The post noted that the event “was attended by senior Canadian military leadership and department management.”

Widows and families were only notified by couriered letters, curiously dated May 10, that the hall “was officially opened on May 13,” though of course by then, at least for some of the recipients, it hadn’t actually happened.

As the Hall is contained within the security perimeter of DND’s new national headquarters (Carling) in Ottawa’s west end, the general public can’t see the memorial — which, at least as I remember it, sprang up spontaneously and remained at Kandahar Air Field for the duration of Canada’s nearly 13-year mission in Afghanistan.

Indeed, the Facebook post said just that: “The Hall and the memorial are not open to the general public, but will be made accessible to families of the Fallen upon request.”

By Tuesday, the blowback having gathered steam for several days, that clear stance had softened.

Dan Le Bouthillier, head of media relations for the forces, told the National Post in an email that “We are … considering ways to accommodate special visits by the public, on appropriate occasions.”