KNBLO is the association that actually organizes the march. I can't remember what it specifically stands for.
You can see in the photo in the top right that it is really the high point: everybody's on the highest emotions; the crowds are cheering and we know we've completed our four days of marching. The victory march is essentially a bonus five kilometres you get to do on top of your day of marching, but you don't even feel it because it's just such a great thing.
I talked about our relationship with the Netherlands. In the top left you'll see me standing there with the deputy head of mission for the embassy here, Rochus Pronk. I have yet to convince him to join us on the march. He's actually sending one of his staffers this year: Wendy Sewell is coming to join us on the march. Hopefully. she'll be able to come back and tell him what a great deal it was.
There are over one million Canadians of Dutch heritage—I'm sure Mr. Stoffer's familiar with that—here in Canada. That's a huge number. You're also certainly familiar with the Tulip Festival as a sign of thanks from the Dutch for what we did for them during the Second World War. But a little known fact is that, according to 2011 figures, the Netherlands was the second largest source of foreign direct investment in Canada, at $56 billion. They were also our sixth largest merchandise export market, at $5 billion, in 2011. We have very close ties from a trade perspective and a military perspective, and certainly in terms of a common heritage.
In the lower left corner, you will see members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 005 colour party. They are one of five Legion branches in continental Europe. They are very proud to come out every year to support us at the Groesbeek cemetery event. They also do a number of other commemorative events around the Netherlands.
In the bottom centre, you can see one of the grave markers at Groesbeek cemetery. Again, 2,338 Canadians...there are 2,617 people actually buried there. There are a number of others, British, a couple of Polish soldiers, and a few others from a number of other nations.
On the right, a little known fact is that the Dutch flag is the only foreign flag to ever fly over the Peace Tower. That was in 1943, on the birth of Princess Margriet. As you might recall, the royal family left the Netherlands at the beginning of the Second World War and came to Canada. Princess Juliana was pregnant at the time, and she gave birth to her daughter in Ottawa. Another little known fact is that the maternity ward at the Civic Hospital was temporarily deemed extraterritorial by the Government of Canada so that Princess Margriet would have Dutch citizenship. It was a temporary measure, to make sure that she was a Dutch citizen.
With regard to commemoration, as the number of our wartime vets sadly continues to decline, the importance of commemoration is on the increase. We take advantage of every opportunity while we're there to commemorate the fallen. In the top left is a young civilian. That's Shawn MacDougall from Veterans Affairs, who is the director of privacy and access to information. He had no idea what he was getting into when he volunteered, but that man had tears coming down his face when he marched in on the fourth day. There he is laying a wreath on behalf of Veterans Affairs at Groesbeek. On the lower left, you can see the colour party.
The top right is Chief Warrant Officer Keith Jones. He was my contingent sergeant-major. He's the senior non-commissioned member who accompanies the contingent and the guy who makes everything happen. I think he has completed 14 Nijmegen marches now, and he'll be going on to 15 this year. He loves walking. I think it's a bit of an addiction for him. I've told him to get counselling, but it doesn't seem to be working. He just retired last year. He's now in New Brunswick, and he's still marching down there. He's going to be coaching a team from True Patriot Love this year, so he's going back as a civilian. This time he'll be staying in a hotel with a spa, not in our austere conditions, so I'm not sure how he's going to adapt to that. He'll still be snoring, though, I'm sure.
Again, the partnership with Veterans Affairs is very important. As we all know, there have been some challenges with the care for our ill and injured. Making sure that there is transition from service in the Canadian Armed Forces to Veterans Affairs is a very important thing. The more that they understand what we do and who we are, the better they can serve us. We do share, in terms of commemoration with them, and again, in offering the senior leadership the opportunity to march with us. Similarly, participation in the march and visits by influential Canadians help to familiarize them with who we are and what we do.
On the top left, again that's Captain Macdonald from New Brunswick. He is a retired captain from The Royal Canadian Regiment. On the lower left is a retired sergeant and Legion representative, Chris Blondin. On the lower right, again you see young Shawn MacDougall.
On the upper right is Honorary Colonel Sol Rolingher, from 1 MP Regiment in Edmonton. Sol has a heart of gold. He's one of the most committed, toughest guys I've ever met. He was 69 years old, I believe, when he attempted the marches with us. Sadly, on day three, I had to order him off the march for medical reasons to avoid long-term injury to his feet. If I hadn't done that, he would have marched on to day four, no doubt about it. Sadly, he had to withdraw that day. It shattered him at the time, but, again, to have completed three days at his age in the conditions that year—the temperatures were very warm, as I recall, and it was quite a tough march.