The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation:

Honour 100 Will Commemorate the Centenary of the First World War

Mr. Speaker, the First World War was a defining time in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador. Our province’s role in the Great War is a story of courage, perseverance and pride built on the backs of men and women who signed up for service in droves to answer the call both at home and abroad.

With the 100th anniversary of the First World War approaching in 2014, I was honoured to join our Premier at Government House last week as more than $3.6 million was announced for Honour100, an initiative which will pay homage to the sacrifices made by our veterans. Our Premier spoke personally of the profound effect of visiting the memorials to our soldiers at places like Beaumont-Hamel and Monchy-le-Preux, and reiterated our commitment to commemorate Newfoundland and Labrador’s First World War story.

Mr. Speaker, we have organized our First World War commemorations planning into five pillars: Anniversaries, Legacy, Education, Provincial Outreach, and Research and Development. Over the coming months, we will be announcing a series of initiatives under each of these pillars. We will coordinate a number of events focusing on the re-formation of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the march of the First Five Hundred to the Florizel, the contributions of the Women’s Patriotic Association who gathered at the ballroom at Government House to knit socks for the men who served in the Newfoundland Regiment, and the arrival home of the soldiers in 1919.

Mr. Speaker, we will renew our relationship with the communities connected to each of the key battles involving the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and will work with our partners to commemorate the centennial anniversaries beginning in 2016 through to 2018.

It is our government’s hope that Honour 100 will put the bravery and the sacrifices of the First World War at the forefront of our thinking, and help us continue to understand the debt we owe so we can bestow the honour and respect they so rightly deserve.

The upcoming centennial period will present a unique opportunity to reconnect Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with their past and help remember the sacrifices made by honouring our veterans, past and present. It will help ensure that the legacy of these brave men and women, to whom we owe so much, is acknowledged and remembered as significant to the character and identity of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

2013 11 12                                     2:20 p.m.