Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Members of the committee and my commemoration colleagues, it is my pleasure to be here today with you discussing the future of commemoration in Canada.
The Vimy Foundation has worked tirelessly since 2006 to provide new and meaningful ways for Canadian youth to engage with the memory of the First World War through experience-based learning, classroom resources and scholarships.
The foundation assisted Veterans Affairs with the funding of the opening in 2017 of the visitor education centre at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and is now the owner and administrator of the Vimy Foundation Centennial Park next to the memorial. We also collaborate with the Hill 70 Memorial, another Canadian-funded property in Loos-en-Gohelle, France.
Dear members of the committee, I would like to begin by thanking Veterans Affairs Canada for its investment of $400,000 over the next three years in our innovative Vimy: A Living Memorial project. Scheduled for launch in April 2022 and conducted in collaboration with several national organizations, this project is entirely digital and designed to bring Vimy and the spirit of Vimy to everyone. We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the European operations team as well as our private and public partners.
Our work, however, is not finished. As most of you know, the Vimy Foundation, with our colleagues of the Hill 70 Memorial, have been speaking to all of you about the urgency to re-examine the way Veterans Affairs supports private sites in Europe. We are pushing for expanded funding criteria within the existing monument renovations program and a direct contribution of $700,000 over five years for our two sites, the Vimy Foundation Centennial Park and the Hill 70 Memorial. Both private sites represent significant Canadian investment by individuals, municipal councils and the provinces in the commemoration of these important First World War moments.
I would also remind the committee that at this time the current 2021-22 budget restricts the funding envelope available to Parks Canada for their heritage sites to Canadian sites only, despite the implication of Parks Canada in the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and other heritage battlefields in Europe.
Although these places are out of sight and out of mind due to their distance, they still represent Canada's public image abroad and retain symbolic value for the people visiting these sites. Both of our organizations are committed to maintaining their respective sites in conditions appropriate to their great importance, and we continue to work proactively with the European operations team.
However, long-term maintenance investments are an increasing challenge. I would therefore like to renew my appeal to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs and to Veterans Affairs Canada to move forward together with a new 10-year strategic plan.
Commemoration is in many ways a community act. It is the coming together of people to mark a significant event in time, but also to mark many thousands of private events: the family member who did not come home, the neighbour who was injured, the lives changed immeasurably.
The Vimy Foundation continues to be a proud partner of Veterans Affairs to provide opportunities for Canadians, especially young Canadians, to take part in this important act. We are looking forward to shaping the future of commemoration with you and with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Thank you for your attention.