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Prime Minister Harper marks Flag Day by announcing funding for Juno Beach Centre

15 February 2007

Ottawa, Ontario

During National Flag of Canada Day celebrations at an Ottawa high school today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid tribute to Canada’s Second World War veterans and announced a contribution of $5 million to operate the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, France through the next decade.

Speaking to an audience of more than 1,000 students and Canadian Forces veterans, including several veterans of the D-Day invasion, Prime Minister Harper called National Flag of Canada Day a fitting occasion to make an announcement related to this important event in Canadian history.

“The Canadians who took Juno Beach deepened our worldwide reputation as a country that produces highly-skilled and courageous soldiers,” the Prime Minister said. “It was a stunning military success, one that made Canadians as proud as they had been of the tremendous victory at Vimy Ridge during the First World War.”

The Juno Beach Centre, which opened in 2003, was built with funds raised from public and private sources by the Juno Beach Association, a group led by D-Day veteran Garth Webb. “The Juno Centre is a tribute to the contributions Canadians made to the liberation of Europe,” said the Prime Minister. “It immortalizes all their efforts, including the sacrifices of the 1,074 who were killed or wounded on Juno Beach.”