Legion applauds Juno Beach decision

Federal government to help buy land to preserve sacred grounds in France

OTTAWA, Oct. 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Royal Canadian Legion is pleased to learn that plans to build a new housing development on the hallowed grounds of the D-Day landings of 1944, have come to halt. The Federal Government announced today that along with the local French municipality, it will help buy the land from the developer to ensure this historic territory remains undeveloped.

In response, Dominion President Bruce Julian has issued the following remarks.

“I cannot express how grateful we are to learn that our country will help preserve these sacred grounds. Our soldiers fought and died there during the Second World War, and this is a place to quietly remember their sacrifices. We thank the Government of Canada and the municipality of Courseulles-sur-Mer for recognizing the sanctity of this territory and taking concrete action to preserve it. May we always Remember our Fallen soldiers.”

A French developer had planned to build a 70-unit housing complex on the site. Concerned citizens in both Canada and France had hoped to see this situation resolved before construction started.

About The Royal Canadian Legion

Founded in 1925, the Legion is Canada’s largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S. and Europe. With 250,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers.