Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the former members of Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Kootenay.
On October 23, 1969, during a routine NATO naval exercise about 200 miles west of Plymouth, England, a disastrous explosion ripped through the interior of the HMCS Kootenay. Ultimately, nine crew members were killed and over 40 were wounded.
Along with family, friends and several members of the Canadian navy, 36 former Kootenay crewmen are currently making a pilgrimage to Plymouth, England to pay homage to their fallen comrades on the 40th anniversary of the worst peacetime accident in the history of the Canadian navy.
Kootenay's motto is “We are as one”, and I believe that Canadian people stand as one to remember the sacrifice and heroism that took place aboard that ship in 1969.