Winnipeg, Manitoba, January 4, 2010-The Honourable Jim Prentice, Canada’s Environment Minister and the Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today invites Canadians to cheer on the Olympic Flame as it arrives in Manitoba. To support the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay celebrations, the Government of Canada is offering free admission at Parks Canada’s national parks and national historic sites on the day the flame is visiting.
“I am very pleased and proud that so many of our national parks and national historic sites are involved in the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. This is an opportunity to showcase to the world Canada’s national treasures,” said Minister Prentice. ”By following the Olympic Flame, Canadians and visitors from around the world will get to know Canada and the people and places that make this country great.”
“The Forks and Lower Fort Garry National Historic Sites offer many rich and interesting experiences for visitors as well as for the local community,” said Minister Toews, Regional Minister for Manitoba, President of the Treasury Board and Member of Parliament for Provencher. “The Olympic Torch Relay provides a wonderful opportunity for Canadians to celebrate and learn about their country’s history and spectacular natural environment.”
The Forks National Historic Site joins with the City of Winnipeg’s Community Task Force for the Olympic Torch Relay to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Flame at the heart of the Gateway to the Canadian West. Parks Canada will lend an air of history and tradition to the evening celebrations at the famous junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers with costumed interpreters, games and refreshments to warm the crowds on a prairie winter evening.
The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay began its 106-day Canadian journey on October 30, 2009 and will travel more than 45,000 km across the country. For the complete list of Parks Canada sites to be visited by the torch please visit www.pc.gc.ca/2010.
Information:
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
819 997-1441
