Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. The Canadian assault forces were the Third Canadian Infantry Division, commanded by Major General R. F. Keller and the Second Canadian Armoured Brigade, with Brigadier R. A. Wyman in charge.

The units were from across the country; from east to west, from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders to the Canadian Scottish from Victoria.

The bombardment of the beaches began at 6:00 a.m. Within an hour the lead landing craft were away from the ships. Two hours later, the German defences at Juno Beach had been shattered and Canada had established the beachhead.

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I would like to also share with you the quick facts from World War II and the content of the D-Day that we are celebrating. There were 1.1 million Canadians who served in World War II, including 106,000 in the Royal Canadian Navy and 200,000 in the Royal Canadian Airforce; 42,042 Canadians were killed; 54,414 were wounded; and, 14,000 Canadians landed on D-Day. Mr. Speaker, during the first six days of the Normandy campaign, 1,017 Canadians died. By the end of the Normandy campaign, about 5,020 Canadians had been killed. About 5,400 Canadians are buried in Normandy. In the two-and-one-half months of the Normandy campaign, Allied casualties totalled 210,000. Canadian casualties totalled more than 18,000, including more than 5,000 dead. German casualties were up to 450,000.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for letting me share an article that gives a very good idea about what the Canadian soldiers and other Allied forces had to go through during World War II. I would also like to take this opportunity to invite the residents of Yellowknife and the communities around the NWT to come out and take this time to pay our respects for those who fought and those who gave up their lives for this just cause. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause