25 May 2007
CALGARY
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor, today announced that Canada’s New Government will contribute $5 million to The Military Museums in Calgary, Alberta. Speaking at a fundraiser for the museum, the Prime Minister spoke of the importance of supporting such local projects throughout the country.
“As the national government, we must do our part to ensure projects that seek to tell Canadians the stories that have shaped the country we know and love today, just as The Military Museums will do, flourish across the country, not just in the nation’s capital,” said Prime Minister Harper.
Opening its doors as The Museum of the Regiments in 1990, The Military Museums’ acclaimed facilities, collections, and programs have become one of the finest repositories of Canada’s proud military heritage. Scheduled to officially open in November, the new museum will include two new galleries devoted to the Navy and the Air Force, as well as a 20,000 square foot space that will house one of the finest military history libraries in Canada.
In addition to serving as a fundraiser for The Military Museums, the dinner also afforded attendees an opportunity to pay homage to members of the Canadian Forces who have served, or are currently serving, in the UN-sanctioned, NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.
“As they have throughout our history, the courageous men and women of the Canadian Forces are conducting themselves with the utmost degree of skill and professionalism, a fact of which I was reminded earlier this week when I traveled to Kabul and Kandahar province,” said the Prime Minister.
In closing, Prime Minister Harper offered a toast to the 58 members of the Calgary Highlanders who will soon join their comrades in helping to bring peace and stability to the long-suffering people of Afghanistan. These men and women will be among the approximately 175 reservists from 41 Canadian Brigade Group, the formation responsible for commanding Alberta’s Army Reserve, who will join the mission in February 2008.
