# National Peacekeepers Day



## GGboy (27 May 2008)

Following just in from the chamber of sober second thought: public hearings on creating a National Peacekeepers Day on Aug. 9th

May 28: Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs to Study Bill Establishing a Day of Honour for Canadian Peacekeepers
On Wednesday, May 28, 2008, the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs will study Bill C-287 which would establish August 9 as “National Peacekeepers’ Day” across Canada.
Date:               Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Time:              12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location:        Room 160-S, Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa
Broadcast:     Live on the internal Parliamentary Radio Network on frequencies 92.7 (EN),
92.3 (FR) and 91.9 (Floor)
Webcast:        www.senate-senat.ca/webcast.asp
Bill C-287, An Act respecting a National Peacekeepers' Day.

Witness(es)
The Honourable Senator Art Eggleton, Sponsor of the Bill
Brent St. Denis, Member of Parliament for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing
Ron Griffis, National President, Canadian Association of Veterans in
United Nations Peacekeeping

As an individual
            Col (ret) John Gardam, Curator of the Peacekeeping Monument
Members of the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs include Senators Michael A. Meighen (Chair), Joseph A. Day (Deputy Chair), Tommy Banks, Colin Kenny and Nancy Ruth.
For more information on the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, previous reports or for upcoming public hearings, visit www.sen-vet.ca.

- 30 -

Shaila Anwar or Gaëtane Lemay

Co-clerks of the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs

613-991-0719 / 613-993-8968


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## McG (27 May 2008)

Let's not have a National Peacekeeper Day.  It is a asinine idea as we must not further enshrine the faulty peacekeeping myth in our national psyche.  

If we require an official day to honour those who served & are still with us, then I would much rather see a *Canadian Veterans' Day*.  Not only would it fairly recognize all those who served on UN peacekeeping operations, but it would also recognize the rest of the service (like the folks in Afghanistan now and the dwindling number of WW II & Korea vets).


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## marshall sl (27 May 2008)

We have a Veterans Day. It's Nov 11,,, Remberance day Let's make it a stat holiday every where like it is in BC


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## McG (27 May 2008)

marshall sl said:
			
		

> We have a Veterans Day. It's Nov 11,,, Remberance day


Remeberance Day is to remember the fallen.  It is not to honour those, still with us, who have served.


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## TrexLink (27 May 2008)

Frankly, I'm not overly fussy about the date.  9 August - just when everybody is on vacation.   

I would have a hard time with it in any case; every cenotaph would be a reproach.  Leave the glory with the fallen - they earned it in full measure.


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## marshall sl (27 May 2008)

this is why they want it on Aug 9.


9 August was chosen because on that date in 1974 the greatest single loss of Canadian lives on a peacekeeping mission occurred. Nine Canadian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt and Israel, were flying in a Canadian Forces "Buffalo" transport aircraft on UN service which was shot down by Syrian air defence missiles while preparing to land at Damascus, Syria on a regular resupply mission. There were no survivors. 

from this page  http://www.cavunp.org/pkday.html


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## Michael OLeary (27 May 2008)

If we had a National Peacekeepers' Day, would we then also need a National NATO Veterans' Day?

http://natoveterans.org/


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## TrexLink (27 May 2008)

marshall sl said:
			
		

> 9 August was chosen because on that date in 1974 the greatest single loss of Canadian lives on a peacekeeping mission occurred. Nine Canadian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt and Israel, were flying in a Canadian Forces "Buffalo" transport aircraft on UN service which was shot down by Syrian air defence missiles while preparing to land at Damascus, Syria on a regular resupply mission. There were no survivors.


 I knew of the incident; I was not aware of the date link. Thanks for that.


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## McG (27 May 2008)

marshall sl said:
			
		

> 9 August was chosen because on that date in 1974 the greatest single loss of Canadian lives on a peacekeeping mission occurred.


And we remember these fallen on Rememberance Day.  There is no need for a national day to prop-up the national peacekeeping myth.


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## daftandbarmy (28 May 2008)

Ironic: August 9th was the day they dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki in 1945


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## Dog (28 May 2008)

August 9, 1967: Biafran offensive against Nigerian army.


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## TCBF (28 May 2008)

- We all know where this is going.  Once we have a Peacekeeping Day, wait until around the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice (Rememberance Day was originally known as Armistice Day) on 11 Nov 2018, the government will then decide that 100 years is enough, and Rememberance Day will be no more.

- The thin edge of the wedge was using Rememberance Day - originally for 'The Fallen' to morph into Rememberance week which became a time to thank our LIVING veterans.   See the plan?  Once you can replace remembering the war dead with thanking the peace living, you can safely flush the national memory of what the Left likes to call " our colonial imperialist war mongering history" down the drain.  "Vimy Ridge?  What Vimy Ridge?  Vimy WHAT?"

- After all, they did it with the Halifax explosion: Ghamil Garbi's (Marc Lapine) victims being more 'relevant' than Halifax's 2000 dead and 7000 injured.


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## lone bugler (29 May 2008)

peace keeping is a great day but we have remembrance day and CF day, if theres a peacekeeps day, why not a police day, firefighter day, etc and break down everything farther.


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## daftandbarmy (29 May 2008)

Why not change it to National Peace MAKER's Day? We could have cool public events like the execution of various war criminals deposed by force of arms by the victorious Canadian Forces.  ;D


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## Greymatters (29 May 2008)

daftandbarmy said:
			
		

> Why not change it to National Peace MAKER's Day? We could have cool public events like the execution of various war criminals deposed by force of arms by the victorious Canadian Forces.  ;D



Flogging of local petty criminals to occur prior to the main event...?


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## daftandbarmy (29 May 2008)

Exactly, kind of like an appetiser to the main event. And we must invite the local knitting circles to sit up front and hurl cat calls...


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## Greymatters (29 May 2008)

MCG said:
			
		

> Let's not have a National Peacekeeper Day.  It is a asinine idea as we must not further enshrine the faulty peacekeeping myth in our national psyche.



The question to me is, what exactly are they planning on celebrating/remembering/commemorating that is unique from Remembrance Day and CF Day?  I agree, its a propogation of the peacekeeping myth.  Been there done that, moved on to other missions, let it go already...


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## daftandbarmy (29 May 2008)

My guess is that it's being driven by Senator Dallaire and his cronies. That poor, misguided soul....


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## McG (29 May 2008)

decoy said:
			
		

> Canadian Forces Day (June 1) can encompass all of this...veterans, peacekeepers, combat troops...soldiers in all of their operational environments!


You are right.  Any more annual celebrations added to the list & the existing days will start to get watered down (as it is I don't think Canadian Forces Day is widely recognized).


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## Greymatters (29 May 2008)

daftandbarmy said:
			
		

> My guess is that it's being driven by Senator Dallaire and his cronies. That poor, misguided soul....



Quit tempting me!  Im trying very hard not to hijack threads...

Back to the point.  Im embarassed to say I know nothing about CF Day, dont recall ever having celebrated it, attended it, or participated in it, or read up about it.  Just how long has this day been around?  Ive looked for a history on the event but cant even find when it first started...


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## Edward Campbell (29 May 2008)

Greymatters said:
			
		

> Quit tempting me!  Im trying very hard not to hijack threads...
> 
> Back to the point.  Im embarassed to say I know nothing about CF Day, dont recall ever having celebrated it, attended it, or participated in it, or read up about it.  Just how long has this day been around?  Ive looked for a history on the event but cant even find when it first started...



See: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/focus/DECPR/CFDay/celebrate_e.asp but you're right; there's precious little PR about it.


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## PMedMoe (9 Aug 2008)

Well, it was officially celebrated today.  Ottawa Citizen

I totally forgot about this thread until I read this in the paper today.  Funny thing is, before I read the paper, I went to Beechwood Cemetery to visit the grave of a very good friend who passed away last year.  I guess that was my way of honoring a peacekeeper.


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