Speaking Notes for The Honourable Albina Guarnieri Minister of Veterans Affairs Toronto, OntarioOctober 22, 2004 Please check against delivery Thank you and Dobry Wieczoor (d-o-br-1 V-i-e-ch-u-r) (Good evening in Polish): I want to thank Ursula Voy-no-row-vich for that kind introduction. And thank you to Greg So-bow-ski, and the members of the executive of the Canadian Polish Congress for inviting me to join you this evening for your 60th anniversary. But I should say that I would not be here without Irene Urbaniak, who proved that she is better than the post office in delivering invitations. Apparently, the invitation to this evening was missing the unit number of our new office by Square One and never reached us. But Irene was on top of every detail as usual. As you know, Maximillian was part of the old riding of Mississauga East which I represented for 15 years, so it always feels like home here. And I know that my colleague Nav Bains is working night and day to represent this community in Ottawa. So you are in great hands. It is a particularly appropriate time for me, as Minister of Veterans Affairs, to meet with the Canadian Polish Congress. As it happens, over the next month we will be asking Canadians to embrace and acknowledge the contribution of Polish Canadians in the Second World War. The heroes of Monte Cassino are here with us in Canada and Canadians should know the great history they bring with them. Earlier this month, I visited Belgium with a delegation of Canadian veterans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of that country. It was a freedom regained, in large measure, by the heroism of Polish soldiers fighting along side the forces of Canada, a nation many of them would later call home. Throughout Belgium, I was struck by the great appreciation and affection that the Belgian people showed toward the Canadian and Polish soldiers who liberated their country. Every night for 76 years in the town of Ypres, there is a last post ceremony where hundreds of townspeople and tourists gather to remember the dead of the First World War. 15,000 Canadians died in Belgium. The towns of Ypres and Paschendale are among the most sacred sites in Canadian military history, in the Second World War, with the Canadian army close at hand, it was the Polish 1st armoured division that liberated Ypres and Paschendale and gave the people of these towns the freedom that Poland would sadly wait another half century to enjoy. What was particularly impressive to me personally was that just about everyone in the town of Ypres could recount the personal stories of Polish and Canadian soldiers. One historian at Flanders museum told me of his friend who was one of the many Polish soldiers whose journey to the battlefields of western Europe was far more harrowing than anything he would face there. He recalled the well-known tragedy of soldiers released from gulags in Siberia to join Allied forces in the west. The privation, the terrible journey, the courage and the cost for thousands who would later join the campaign to liberate others. His friend was one of a group of Polish soldiers who made their way through Iran, Iraq and Syria to join British Forces in the middle east. Later, they would fight through Europe under British command and would be honoured with British medals for heroism. Canadians should know that it was Canadian infantrymen and Polish armoured divisions who slogged through the marshes and mud of the Scheldt estuary in 1944. It was these men who together cleared the port of Antwerp, the second largest port in all of Europe, and opened up a supply line that fueled the Allied victory. That success should be a shared source of pride. We all need to join the battle against the amnesia of time when it comes to guarding the memory of Canadians who fought and sacrificed for Canada. In that effort, we must not forget those Canadians who made great contributions while wearing allied uniforms. In October, I will be leading another delegation of veterans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the campaign to liberate Italy. Italy was an opportunity for Canadian units to get to know the people who would later be their neighbours back in Canada. This time it was the Canadian First Army and the Polish Second Corps who fought in some of the fiercest battles of the campaign. The town of Cassino and its abbey blocked the road to Rome. German troops surrounded the abbey and controlled air and ground fire against the Allies. American and British forces were unable to take Monte Cassino from the Germans and withdrew. It was The Polish 2nd Corps who finally took their place and were victorious, 1,100 died in the effort. The Battle of Monte Cassino is an eternal monument to the gallantry of the Polish soldiers. Canada is fortunate to have become the new home of many of the survivors. I understand that some members of the Polish Second Corps are here with us tonight. Perhaps they could rise and I am sure you would want to join me in giving them a round of applause. When we honour the success and sacrifice of Canadians during the Italian pilgrimage next month, we will be giving special recognition to thousands of our soldiers who would later become Polish Canadians. We will be making a special stop in Monte Cassino to give Canadians a full appreciation for the history that was made there. But we are not going alone. I am very pleased that we will have with us someone who can represent the thousands who fought at Monte Cassino and relate the harsh reality of those days in 1944. I would like to thank Sergeant Zbigniew Gondek from the Polish Second Corps for agreeing to join me and the Canadian delegation. I very much look forward to the history you are uniquely able to share and that is our obligation to preserve. As I am sure the Canadian Polish Congress would remind you, Polish Canadians were and important part of the Canadian forces as well. The most famous was certainly Polish-Canadian pilot Andrew Mynarski of Winnipeg. On June 12, 1944, Pilot officer Mynarski sacrificed his life to save the life of a fellow gunner after their Lancaster bomber was attacked by German aircraft over France. He was awarded the Victoria Cross -our highest medal for bravery. While the events of war were drawing Canadians and Polish troops together in Europe, the work of your Congress has been key to building a vibrant Polish Community in Canada. You have helped thousands of Polish immigrants settle in Canada and have obviously been successful in maintaining a cohesive community able to build great things like this fabulous church and community center. One of the objectives or missions of the Congress is to familiarize Canadian society with your contribution to the culture and civilization of Canada and the rest of the world; That is part of my department's mission as well. When you consider the tremendous accomplishments that Polish Canadians made during the Second World War on so many fronts, that is going to be a full-time job for all of us. So I would like to thank the Congress for the great work that it has done over its first sixty years and thank you in advance for your continued mission to help Canadians know and appreciate the contribution of Polish Canadians who risked their lives in war so that we could all live in peace. Thank you. Merci beaucoup. Dziykujy (dj-en-ku-ye) (Thank you in Polish) Bonne fin de soirée. - 30 -
