Brent St. Denis' bill creates National Peacekeepers' Day

NEWS RELEASE

BRENT ST. DENIS, MP

************************* St. Denis’ peacekeepers’ bill is given Royal Assent

OTTAWA, June 19, 2008 - Brent St. Denis’ private member's Bill C-287, An Act respecting a National Peacekeepers’ Day, has become law in time for a 2008 commemoration.

The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and the House of Commons.

The Governor General signed the bill into law yesterday.

“In this, I want to express my gratitude to Members of Parliament and Senators for their support,” said St. Denis [shown on a 2002 tour of Bosnia and Herzegovina] “I especially want to express my gratitude to Senator Art Eggleton for sponsoring this bill in the Senate. Without his efforts, this bill would not be law today.

“It is rare for a private members’ bill to become law and I am truly honoured by this show of support from my colleagues of all parties in both the House of Commons and the Senate.” St. Denis continued. “Because of their hard work and bipartisanship, Canada’s peacekeepers and those who believe in the fundamentals of peacekeeping, will have a special day in their honour and their sacrifices for peace will never be forgotten.”

On August 9, 1974, nine Canadian Forces peacekeepers were killed when their plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile while en route from Beirut to Damascus.

Over the years, in total, 164 Canadian peacekeepers have lost their lives while keeping the peace around the world in over 66 nations.

“The Right Honourable Lester Pearson won a Nobel Peace Prize for proposing the first United Nations peacekeeping mission. Since then, our brave men and women in the armed forces and many non-military citizens have helped keep peace around the world - and they deserve recognition for it,” continued St. Denis.

The intent of the bill is not only to recognize those who have sacrificed a great deal for peace and security around the world, but also to raise awareness in an increasingly dangerous world that peace and peacekeeping are important to the future of international relations and security.

“I want to acknowledge the efforts of Robert Manuel of Elliot Lake who brought this initiative forward. The message it sends about peace and peacekeeping is strong and I am proud that my colleagues from all political parties agree,” Mr. St. Denis concluded.

Mr. St. Denis also expressed his thanks to all veteran organizations who appeared before both the House of Commons and Senate committees for their input and support.

Mr. St. Denis is the vice chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.

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