Mr. Speaker, it was on June 6, 1944, that the long awaited invasion of Nazi controlled Europe began. It was the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany.
Military historians have named this day the longest day in history. Canadians went ashore at Juno Beach and fought a battle that is as comparable in memory to that of Vimy Ridge during World War I. Approximately 14,000 Canadians landed on the shores of Normandy and suffered 1,074 casualties of which 359 were fatal. VE Day was still 11 months away.
Today, we have veterans across Canada, some of whom received their injuries on June 6, 1944, whose names appear on long waiting lists to get into promised long term care at veterans' hospitals.
Canadian vets deserve better than this.