An area in memory of a long-time labour leader will be built along Windsor's riverfront.
City council has approved the creation of the Gary Parent Legacy Garden in Reaume Park at 236 Pillette Rd. along Riverside Drive.
Parent passed away May 10, 2024, after a brief battle with cancer. He was 77.
The former president of the Windsor and District Labour Council was also financial secretary of Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 444 before he retired from Chrysler in 2009 after 40 years with the company.
Former CAW National President and former Local 444 President Ken Lewenza says they have a goal to raise $160,000 to pay for the project and maintain it once it's complete.
Lewenza says it wasn't unusual for Gary to make a presentation before city council on a number of issues from poverty to health and safety to human rights.
"Gary Parent deserves this, and all of us today stand in the shadow of Gary Parent. All of us today have learned something from Gary Parent, and hopefully we're sharing some of his compassion and continue to share his compassion through this project," he says
The garden is scheduled to open as part of a ceremony on May 1.
Lewenza says the site will include a seating area with a view of the peace fountain and information about Gary Parent.
"A description of Gary Parent's work within the labour movement and his commitment to the labour movement. It's going to talk about his family, his commitment to family, and family values. How you extend that to be a good citizen in the city of Windsor and, quite frankly, in Canada," he says.
The new seating area would be near the new International Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain which honours the former president of the United Auto Workers Local 444, who was shot and killed at the union hall on Turner Road in 1977 by a disgruntled Chrysler worker who had lost his job.
Lewenza says Gary Parent and Charlie Brooks were so much alike when it came to community involvement.
"To be able to sit at one of the benches and kind of reflect on Gary Parent's life but also look at the Peace Fountain and see the connection between Charlie Brooks' advancement for peace and Gary Parent's continual work to move forward on Charlie Brooks' vision for a progressive labour movement and a world made of peace," he says.
The target is to open the peace fountain on September 21, the World Day of Peace, but if that can't be met, the opening could be delayed until 2027.
The Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain was installed in 1978 in honour of Brooks but was removed for good in September 2023 due to age-related maintenance issues.
In November 2024, city council approved a $10.5 million plan to replace the fountain with a new floating one, very similar to the previous peace fountain.