Mr. Speaker, this past Friday, I had the honour to attend the 70th anniversary VE Day ceremony at Camp X, near my home riding of Oshawa.
Camp X was a top secret spy training ground set up by Sir William Stephenson, who is believed to be the real-life inspiration for James Bond. Oshawa's Royal Canadian Legion Branch 637 is named after Sir William Stephenson.
The deciphering and communications ability of the Hydra communications facility at Camp X was so advanced that Alan Turing, who was recently portrayed in the highly acclaimed movie, The Imitation Game, came to study it. By mid-1944, the Hydra station sent and received the bulk of allied communications in the western hemisphere. The work made German tapping of transatlantic lines useless, and was crucial for allied victory in Europe.
Camp X is a symbol that Canada has always punched above its weight and plays an important role in preserving world peace. With CBC's X Company, a new generation of Canadians is beginning to understand this truth.