Freedom Walk part of 60th Liberation Anniversary

On day of visit by Princess Margriet

OTTAWA - A Freedom Walk to express ‘Thank You Canada’ is planned for Ottawa on May 14, 2005. The event is to reconfirm the strong ties between Canada and the Netherlands. The 5 kilometres salute will coincide with the official Liberation Anniversary visit to the Canadian capital by Princess Margriet.

The Dutch National Committee Thank You Canada & Allied Forces envisions that volunteers carry two flags from the Liberation monument ‘Man with Two Hats’ to the city’s national monument. Participants in the commemorative walk will copy similar events held in the Netherlands throughout the first week of May, when the country remembers the Liberation of May 5, 1945. The Ottawa walk also is meant for those veterans and others who are unable to travel to the Netherlands to participate in the many events surrounding the anniversary.

Princess Margriet, who was born in Ottawa - al-though the delivery room temporarily was designated as Dutch territory - in 1943, will lay a wreath at the ‘Man with Two Hats’ monument, a replica of a memorial in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn. Margriet unveiled both monuments, the one in Apeldoorn in 2000, the Ottawa replica in 2002.

Anyone interested in participating in or volunteering for aspects of the Ottawa event are encouraged to contact the Defense Department at the Netherlands Embassy in Ottawa, phone 613-237-5030 or email [email protected].