July 3, 2012
Ottawa — The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, will lead an official delegation to France to mark the 70th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid. Commemorative ceremonies will take place between August 18 and 20, 2012, where at least 500 guests are expected, including Canadian Veterans who participated in the Dieppe Raid, a Canadian Forces contingent and Canadian cadets and scouts. Joining the delegation of Veterans and attending this unique event offers you and your organization the opportunity to profile the stories of remarkable individuals and to cover one of the darkest periods of the Second World War, but one where the lessons learned served to play an important role in later actions.
Media interested in accompanying the delegation must contact Veterans Affairs Canada by July 13, 2012. Contact information is provided below. Spaces are limited. Transportation and accommodation expenses will be covered by Veterans Affairs Canada. For those outlets with pay policies, these expenses are estimated to be approximately $2,735 per person. The invitation to be an official media delegate is open to mainstream media who satisfy the following:
Essential Criteria – Media must demonstrate:
- a circulation or reach of at least 100,000 in Canada, and
- a commitment to file a number of articles or stories back to Canada.
Asset Criteria – Preference will be given to media who:
- can demonstrate a national audience or reach within Canada;
- can demonstrate a capability to publish or disseminate stories within Canada in both English and French;
- are major regional newspaper outlets in Canada with larger network membership or affiliation;
- are Canadian radio outlets with the capability to disseminate stories through a broadcast news feed;
- are major Canadian television networks;
- have covered Veterans or commemorative issues in the past;
- are capable of publishing in multiple formats (e.g. print, broadcast, Web, etc.);
- target youth as an audience.
