Government of Canada Commemorates 100th anniversary of Second Battle of Ypres

MP Ted Opitz announces funding to restore the 48^th Highlanders of Canada Regimental Memorial

TORONTO, April 24, 2015 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada marked the 100^th anniversary of the Second Battle of Ypres today during a ceremony at the 48^th Highlanders of Canada Regiment Memorial in Toronto. Local Army units, regimental associations, Veterans and residents attended to commemorate the   centennial.

On behalf of the Honourable Erin O'Toole, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Ted Opitz, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre, also announced funding to restore the 48^th Highlanders of Canada Regimental Memorial located in Queen's Park.

The Regimental Trust and its 15^th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) project will receive $25,000 through Veterans Affairs Canada's Cenotaph/Monument Restoration Program.

Quick Facts 

• The Second Battle of Ypres took place from April 22 to May 25, 1915, for the control of the town of Ypres in western Belgium.
• It marked the first use by the German army of poison gas on the Western Front.
• During the four days of the battle, Canada suffered more than 6,000 casualties, of which more than 2,000 died.
• The Cenotaph/Monument Restoration Program aims to expand the reach of remembrance programming by providing funding for projects that recognize traditional and modern-day Canadian Veterans and those who died in service.
• Across the country, there are more than 6,000 cenotaphs and monuments dedicated to Canada's war dead and to Veterans.

Quotes  

"The Second Battle of Ypres marks a pivotal moment in Canadian military history. The bravery and sacrifice shown at Ypres forged the reputation of courageous and capable Canadian soldiers that continues to the present day. Treating the wounded and dying at Ypres inspired Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae to pen the poem In Flanders Fields which, to this day, urges us to remember this sacrifice and hold the torch of remembrance high."
The Honourable Erin O'Toole, Minister of Veterans Affairs

"We are paying tribute to all Canadians who fought during the Second Battle of Ypres and particularly to the 15th Battalion which, on the 24th of April 1915, suffered the highest single-day casualties of any Canadian unit during the First World War."
Ted Opitz, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre

Associated Links

Ypres 1915 – Veterans Affairs Canada 
Cenotaph/Monument Restoration Program 
Second Ypres – Canadian War Museum 

SOURCE Veterans Affairs Canada

Martin Magnan, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs, 613-996-4649; Media Relations, Veterans Affairs Canada, 613-992-7468