Earlier today, Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay announced that the Government of Canada will support the purchase of the land adjacent to the Juno Beach Centre. The planned condominium development for this area on Juno Beach will not go ahead.

In early March 2022, the Juno Beach Centre (JBC) publicly declared that it was threatened by a condominium development called Domaine des Dunes. At the time, the legal battle was already running into its second year and had drained the museum’s financial reserves. The developer’s planned use of the JBC’s road was an existential threat to the Juno Beach Centre and the Canadian memorial presence in Normandy.

Thankfully, we are now nearing the light at the end of the tunnel. The development site will be sold to the town of Courseulles-sur-Mer aided by the support of the Government of Canada. The settlement agreement will result in the leasing of the property to the Association Centre Juno Beach through a new lease that will include the existing lands leased to the JBC by the town. There are several parties to the settlement agreement with the developer including the Government of Canada, the town of Courseulles, the French Government, the Région Normandie, the Départment du Calvados, and the Intercommunalité Cœur de Nacre.

The settlement will ensure that the Juno Beach Centre and the Canadian memorial presence in Normandy are preserved for generations to come. In addition, the portion of Juno Park between the museum and the sea, including the bunkers our young Canadian guides lead tours through, will also come under the 99-year lease, which was signed in 2001. This will ensure the JBC remains in control of its road and all significant lands on the peninsula. Discussions are underway to secure a more permanent arrangement for this historic property that compliments the existing commemorative site and ensures the JBC is protected from similar threats in the future.

We are extraordinarily grateful for the time, effort, and energy put forward by the Minister, his staff at Veterans Affairs Canada, the Embassy of Canada to France, and the Embassy of France to Canada over the past several months to help bring a positive resolution to the dispute. Equally, we appreciate the work of French state officials, including the French Minister Delegate for Remembrance and Veterans, the Préfet du Calvados Thierry Mosimann, and the Mayor of Courseulles Anne-Marie Philippeaux and her municipality.

There are many other organizations and individuals we need to thank for their support during this difficult time for the Juno Beach Centre. Foremost among these include the organizers of the Save Juno Beach citizens’ campaign and the tens of thousands of Canadians who voiced their concerns in letters to officials in Canada and France or donated to the Juno Beach Centre Association’s Emergency Fund. We thank the French association Les Amis du Centre Juno Beach, who have stood by the JBC from the beginning of this battle. Thank you as well to the Comité Juno Canada Normandie and the environmental associations who stood against the project. Finally, thank you to all of the French individuals who did the best they could with their limited power but tremendous determination.

The collective voices on both sides of the Atlantic made a difference and ensured that Canadian and French officials took concrete actions to prevent this enormous insult to the memory of our soldiers – all volunteers and many as young or younger than 18 – who began the liberation of France from Juno Beach.

With the beach secure once again, the Juno Beach Centre can continue and enhance its important work as a living memorial that connects people with the past. With the 80^th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy on the horizon, the JBC is committed to a program of sustainable development and the renewal of the “Faces of Canada Today” gallery space.

This permanent exhibition is the capstone of any visit to the JBC. It showcases Canada’s evolution since the war, and helps visitors understand the modern Canada that over 1 million Canadian Veterans (in a country of 11 million) helped to build – our Veterans’ true legacy. Currently, the gallery presents modern Canada as it existed 20 years ago and is sorely in need of a major upgrade. A renewed Faces of Canada Today exhibition will send a strong signal that Canada is experiencing a major shift in our culture of remembrance as the last of our Second World War Veterans pass away. The renewed exhibition will form the core of the JBC’s effort to engage with modern Veterans and ensure that they feel welcomed and represented at the museum.

The Juno Beach Centre Association is seeking corporate sponsorships to help us breathe new life into this exhibition space. We are also looking for partners to help us achieve our sustainable development goals. Our Veterans understood that a better Canada and a better world would be their memorial to the Second World War. Our sustainable development initiative carries the same principle forward. Out of respect for the sacrifices made by Canadians to liberate Europe in the Second World War, we must do our part in the face of climate-related events that threaten peace today.

Please consider making a donation to the Juno Beach Centre Association to support these initiatives.

They have fought to protect our land and freedom; it is now our collective duty to protect what they fought for.