Juno Beach Centre Saved from Condo Development

Posted October 18, 2022

The following text is taken from the savejunobeach.ca website, dated October 7, 2022.

Juno Beach Centre Saved from Condo Development
Read the full statements from Veterans Affairs Canada and the Juno Beach Centre.

(Ottawa – Oct 7 2022) – Tens of thousands of outraged Canadians have successfully defeated plans to bulldoze the hallowed ground of Juno Beach in Normandy to build luxury seaside condos.

Juno Beach is one of the most sacred places in Canadian military history. More than 14,000 Canadians came ashore or parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, seizing a critical foothold while under intense fire from the enemy. The battle on June 6, 1944, was an extraordinary example of Canadian acts of personal courage. Today, the Juno Beach Centre, Canada’s Second World War museum on the site of the landings, honours their memory, preserving the story of Canadian servicemen and women who put their lives on hold – or sacrificed them entirely – to fight for a better world.

Plans by a wealthy French developer to overrun the battlefield with condos threatened the sanctity of the site and the Centre that preserves the story of those who fought at such great cost to secure Juno Beach. “It was a step too far for Canadians,” says Cindy Clegg of the Save Juno Beach campaign which raised the alarm about the development across the country.

Through the efforts of the Save Juno Beach group between March and June of this year, tens of thousands of Canadians wrote to their Members of Parliament, Ministers, Ambassadors and French Ministers demanding a stop to this deeply disrespectful development. Large numbers of elected Canadian officials responded with support for the Save Juno Beach campaign and the Juno Beach Centre and urged the government to protect the site so future generations will remember the sacrifice of Canadian soldiers.

“Our efforts to save Juno Beach from development told Canadians what was happening in France, at a time when authorities were looking the other way. It should never have gotten to this point,” said Clegg.

“Canadians make a promise every Remembrance Day to never forget the sacrifices made for future generations. And this year, we forced our government to step up and protect the legacy and reputation of our country as an ally and force for good in a war-torn world.”

For further information: Contact i[email protected] or call 613-858-2760

Save Juno Beach Campaign Gains Support of Parliament

Posted April 11, 2022

Save Juno Beach Campaign Gains Support of Parliament 

As the Save Juno Beach campaign gains momentum, Canadians have sent nearly 50,000 letters to Members of Parliament, cabinet ministers and ambassadors in Canada and France demanding that a luxury seaside condominium development planned for Juno Beach be stopped.

Members of Parliament across the country have heard loud and clear from Canadians about their opposition to this proposed development at such an important site in our shared history. Juno Beach is one of the most sacred places in Canadian military history.

In just under a month, large numbers of elected officials are now standing shoulder to shoulder, regardless of their political stances, to stop this development of Juno Beach that is so deeply disrespectful. On March 29th, 2022, Frank Caputo, MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, introduced the following motion at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs:

THAT given that Juno Beach is one of the most sacred places in Canadian military history, the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs objects to plans to develop the area immediately adjacent to the Juno Beach Centre, expresses its support for the Save Juno Beach campaign in Canada, calls on the government to provide financial or other support for the Save Juno Beach Centre Association in order to protect the integrity of Canada’s primary site of Second World War commemoration overseas and reports this motion to the House of Commons.

MP Caputo’s Motion passed with unanimous consent at the Standing Committee for Veterans Affairs and will be presented to the House of Commons.

French citizens are taking action as well. Thousands are adding their names to a special French petition at https://www.sauvezlaplagejuno.ca/partager to stop the seaside condo development.

As a result of the significant pressure from across Canada and France, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay will travel to Juno Beach on April 13th. The Minister will meet with the Mayor of Courseulles-sur-Mer, the Canadian-owned Juno Beach Centre and then travel to Paris for meetings with French representatives.

Armed with the support of thousands of Canadians and French and instructed by the House of Commons to provide financial and other support for the Juno Beach Centre, we expect the Minister of Veterans Affairs to speak with his counterparts in France to emphasize the extreme importance of this site and seek a diplomatic resolution to this situation. The Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs must, at the very least, work with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Minister for Tourism, and the President of the General Council of the Calvados to ensure that the private road leading to the Juno Beach Centre is not used for construction as this could threaten their operations.

Meanwhile, the Save Juno Beach campaign continues to urge Canadians to email their Member of Parliament to keep building pressure on both the Canadian and the French governments to find a solution to building luxury condos on Juno Beach, the historical D-Day landing site for Canadian soldiers in WWII.

[email protected]

Save Juno Beach

1-800-393-5734

SAVE JUNO BEACH

Posted April 11, 2022

(The following information is copied from the savejunobeach.ca website)

DEVELOPERS WANT TO BUILD CONDOS ON JUNO BEACH

Developers in Normandy are planning to build seaside condos on the site of Canada’s D-Day landings. That’s not right. If we’re going to preserve the sanctity of this hallowed ground and honour the memory of the soldiers who fought and died on D-Day, we need Canadians like you to speak up so our politicians will step up. Email your Member of Parliament today! Let them know we need their voice to help Save Juno Beach!

A questionable municipal land deal has turned over a large portion of Juno Beach to developers who plan to build 70 seaside condos atop this historic site. Pleas from local opposition, attempts to negotiate, and over two years of litigation — which have drained the coffers of the Juno Beach Centre — have fallen on deaf ears and left no real path towards resolution. French authorities are looking the other way and aggressive actions by the developer — despite further court actions — could see shovels in the ground within weeks.  The legacy that our veterans built for future generations may disappear entirely.

We need to preserve the sanctity of this battlefield to ensure future generations have a place to reflect on the story of the incredible sons who conquered their fear to liberate a country and a continent from that beach. Building luxury seaside condos undermines the duty of memory we owe to those soldiers and it insults their sacrifice. This development is a threat to the Centre that preserves the story of those who fought at such great cost to secure Juno Beach.

“Lest We Forget” must be more than just words. The phrase means that we will do all that is necessary to honour our history, remember the valour of our soldiers who fought and died and memorialize the places that preserve the story of Canadian soldiers who put their lives on hold – or sacrificed them entirely – to fight for a better world.

Visit www.savejunobeach.ca to learn more.

Use their link to send a message to your MP.