Minister Congratulates Students for Remembering Our Troops
 During Veterans Week 

The Honourable John Ottenheimer, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, today issued congratulations to the students, parents and staff of Mary Queen of Peace School in St. John�s for their wonderful efforts to help Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan.  

�The efforts of these students to ensure that the brave men and women of Canada working to establish peace in a troubled region are not forgotten is to be commended,� said Minister Ottenheimer. �The We Care! project of Mary Queen of Peace demonstrates that young people understand the sacrifices that our veterans have made and the efforts of today�s soldiers to establish a safe world for us all.� 

The We Care! project was initiated by Mary Queen of Peace teacher Bruce Lane upon his realization that some Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan do not receive care packages. After discussions with a relative who has served in the region, and learning of some items that are difficult for soldiers to attain while in service, Mr. Lane decided that it would be a good experience for students of the school to send care packages containing some of these items to our soldiers. 

�My nephew served in Afghanistan and told me items such as toothpaste, shampoo, beef jerky and gum were often difficult for soldiers to find at reasonable costs,� stated Mr. Lane. �We decided to ask each class of Mary Queen of Peace to donate a certain item that we would place in a shoe box and send to our troops through the St. John�s Military Family Resource Centre. The result was overwhelming as we exceeded our goal of 50 shoe boxes and have packaged 148, with still more to come.� 

�As we celebrate Veterans Week across Canada it is a warming thought to know that our children appreciate the efforts of our soldiers and at the same time are learning about our conflicts of past and present,� continued Minister Ottenheimer. �I thank the over 700 students of Mary Queen of Peace, their families and teachers, and all students throughout Newfoundland and Labrador holding special celebrations during Veterans Week. As we approach the Christmas season this tremendous effort shows our troops we appreciate their efforts and we keep them in our thoughts and prayers.� 

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Media contact:
Ken Morrissey
Communications
Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat
709-729-6026, 690-0525
kenmorrissey@gov.nl.ca