Mr. Speaker, on October 4, Bonnie Rourke, a constituent of mine, released a historic compilation of her memories of growing up at the Queen Elizabeth and Princess Alice sea cadet camps on Minicoganashene Island. The book is called The Sea Cadet Years on Georgian Bay.
From 1943 to 1953, Bonnie lived at the cadet camps with her family. From these recollections, her father’s journal, Navy League documents and the stories of former sea cadets, Bonnie has made a profound contribution to the history of Canada’s Sea Cadet program and our Navy League.
Gary Garnett, National President of the Navy League, has praised her work, noting that, “The fertile ground of Minicoganashene grew much more than blueberries. For a time, it served to grow our country”.
Please join me in congratulating Bonnie and Canada’s Sea Cadets, past and present, who helped create this tremendous and historic work.