November 7, 2008
OTTAWA-Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, will participate in the following activities related to Remembrance Day.
Monday, November 10
7:30 p.m.
Premiere of the film Front Lines
On the eve of Remembrance Day, the Governor General will attend the premiere of the National Film Board (NFB) film Front Lines. This short film, by Canadian director Claude Guilmain, will be presented at 7:30 p.m., in the LeBreton Gallery at the Canadian War Museum (1 Vimy Place, Ottawa). On this occasion, Her Excellency will deliver a short speech in front of distinguished guests and war veterans.
Front Lines is a tribute to the Canadian combatants in the First World War and traces the conflict through the writings of six Canadians who experienced it first-hand. Ninety years after the Armistice, these letters home, a war diary written in the heat of events, and archival film footage bring the conflict alive with a human face and heart. For more information about the film, visit the NFB Web site at www.nfb.ca.
OPEN TO MEDIA
Tuesday, November 11
11:00 a.m.
National Remembrance Ceremony
Her Excellency, along with her daughter, Marie-Éden, will attend the National Remembrance Day Ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The Governor General will lay a wreath on behalf of the people of Canada.
OPEN TO MEDIA
12:30 p.m.
Silver Cross Mother Luncheon
Her Excellency will host a luncheon at Rideau Hall to pay tribute to this year's National Silver Cross Mother, Mrs. Avril Dianna Stachnik. Her son, the late Sergeant Shane Hank Stachnik, was serving with the Canadian Forces as a combat military engineer during operation MEDUSA, a ground offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. On September 3, 2006, he was killed in an ambush while leading his section. The National Silver Cross Mother is chosen annually by the Royal Canadian Legion. She represents mothers who have lost their children in the military service of our country and attends the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa.
CLOSED TO MEDIA
-30-
Media information
Marie-Ève Létourneau
Rideau Hall Press Office
613-998-0287
613-302-0912 (cellular)
www.gg.ca
www.citizenvoices.gg.ca
Lily Robert
Head Communications
National Film Board of Canada
514-283-3838
514-296-8261 (cellular)
lrobert@onf.ca
www.nfb.ca
Bob Butt
Royal Canadian Legion
613-591-3335, ext. 241
bbutt@legion.ca
