Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, honourable colleagues, and committee members, thank you for giving me the opportunity to underline the importance of recognizing the outstanding contributions of African Canadians to the Canadian Forces and their country by honouring these veterans and fallen heroes with a national commemorative ceremony and an African Canadian war memorial commemorating black soldiers who fought and died to secure our freedom.
Earlier this year, on February 24, 2011, as part of Black History Month, the Department of National Defence recognized and honoured for the first time the contributions to the Canadian Forces of African Canadians from the British West Indies and Haiti and of Canadian-born blacks.
As a Jamaican-born Canadian citizen and the fourth African Canadian to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, I know first-hand the struggles minorities in this country face. I'm also doubly aware of the tremendous battle that black Canadians face to receive inclusion and recognition as members of the Canadian military.
In brief, these veterans paved the way for Canadian Forces members of all origins to take their rightful place to reflect the diverse Canadian society they serve. These black veterans struggled for their right to defend their country and fellow citizens. They equally deserve the honour of a national ceremony commemorating their contributions.
Honourable colleagues, I firmly believe that while the Canadian Forces maintain themselves to be a relevant, modern, and progressive national institution in the 21st century, we must be transparent and fully recognize the contributions and sacrifices African Canadians have shown in the past for a better tomorrow. It is crucial that our government commit to educating Canadians and the world about the rich history of African Canadians in the Canadian military.
During my research for this recommendation, I was glad to see that the National Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Veterans Affairs websites have several pages devoted to the African Canadian soldiers in the regiments in various wars. But honourable members, it was a real shame that one must dig for these historical facts; that this history remains buried in the past and is not recognized by a national commemorative ceremony.
The educational benefits of a national commemorative celebration recognizing the role of African Canadians in Canadian history are abundant, not only for our youth but for all Canadian men and women. We must remember the sacrifice and achievements of African Canadians for generations to come. Our black ancestors fought hard to break down barriers and open doors for those who follow. Their efforts should no longer be hidden, but should serve as inspiration and encouragement for our youth that they too can overcome the odds.
I strongly suggest that this proposed national commemoration take place annually, possibly on Emancipation Day—which is the first Monday of August—which represents the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834 and thus also in Canada.
I support the effort of my predecessor, the late Senator Calvin Ruck, to preserve, educate, and commemorate the history of black veterans, which resulted in his successor's having a memorial erected in Nova Scotia dedicated to the members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, for this memorial specifically symbolizes the contribution of African Canadian men of the No. 2 Construction Battalion. I recommend a war memorial that represents all African Canadian soldiers who served and continue to serve their country—a national ceremony paying homage to all African Canadian soldiers, both past and present.
Honourable colleagues, it is important to Canada to honour the significant role that black people have played and continue to play in the history of our country. I want to point to something relevant here, the fact that our Prime Minister and our Minister of Defence, Peter MacKay, in a ceremony that was held in Tehran in 2009, also indicated this:
“The legacy is found in the Canada they helped to build and protect, a country that cherishes freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Black Canadians may take distinct pride in their service to our country, as they have a long and honourable tradition of patriotism, sacrifice and heroism.”
That was from the Prime Minister.
noted: “We are fortunate that in modern times there has been an increase in recognition of the efforts these men and women have made in Canada's name. The history of the service extends from far beyond Confederation right up to the present day. Their efforts will not be forgotten.”
More important, honourable colleagues, a national commemorative reminds us that we have overcome and will continue to overcome many tribulations as we persevere to fight for equality and the preservation of our freedom.
I trust that this presentation was useful, and I look forward to answering your questions.
Thank you Mr. Chair.
One of the young soldiers who was recognized, Kevin Junor, was a stalwart within the army. He was recognized and given a medal in 2009. As a young soldier, he is educating a lot of the high school students, because a lot of them just aren't aware.
I think part of the problem--and as I said, I commend the Department of Veterans Affairs for the website and so forth--is that you have to dig for this information. I think it should be an education piece that goes through the schools, not just during Black History Month. This is history. History should not just be during Black History Month. Every day of the year we should talk about the history and the contributions of various Canadians to this country.
I think it's important that we continue to talk to our youth, continue to engage them, and encourage them not only to look at the history but to become part of the Canadian Forces and to gain the experience that the military has to offer.
As you say, a lot of individuals are retiring from the force. I think the next generation should come up with a diverse face for the military as we serve around the globe and in these various countries. I think it's important that we truly reflect the diversity that Canada offers.
I'm so glad you raised that. Our young people are on Facebook 24/7. I have two teenagers, and they're on it. It's important that we tap into social media. That is the medium of the day and it's a way to get our message out, to talk about when a wreath has been laid, why it's been laid, and we can tweet that. You engage the young people right across this country. Our world has shrunk because of technology, so it's important.
It puts...not only from this conference that I attended with Senator Oliver and others...the fact that there are individuals.... There's a crossover with our major partner, the United States, and the rich history that exists with the British Loyalists and so forth who came across and served in World War I and defended Canada, and the War of 1812, and so forth. So you tie these museums together and you talk about the recognition and the contributions of these individuals in real time. It's important that we tap into that to connect to our young people. It would inspire them--wow, they did this; this was the first black pilot; this was the first Korean pilot. Or there's Jeremiah Jones, who fought hard for Canada in Vimy Ridge. Individuals like those will inspire hope in these young people.
A lot of the young people across the country feel marginalized and inadequate. By recognizing those heroes you will inspire them to become something and contribute to this country. I think it's important that we use media as a way to do that.
:
Honourable member, I thank you so much for that important question.
I keep going back to education. I keep going back to our institutions of learning. When I was in high school, I'd learned about Samuel de Champlain and Mathieu Da Costa. I didn't know that Mathieu Da Costa was a black man. So the issue is really one of being transparent and making our history relevant, making our history clear. Our history books are there; we need to make sure that the faces of these soldiers, who are on our Veterans Affairs website.... I'm seeing some of these faces for the first time, and I've been in this country over 35 years. So it's important that we continue through the educational institutions to talk to our young people. I think that's the medium.
Our faith community and our youth organizations have a responsibility with regard to the information they receive, but again it has to be coordinated. So I think Veterans Affairs has to make an effort to make sure our schools are supplied with the necessary resources to be able to talk to these young Canadians who are coming in, so they are aware of the true history of this country instead of not seeing themselves represented in the military. They'll see the contributions of Canadians from the past who have been involved in exploits and done great work. I think that has to come to the forefront now.
I think we start with our education system. We start with our community centres. Again, they would receive a package from Veterans Affairs to say, “This is the true mosaic of Canada; these are the contributions of various individuals, whether you are from India, whether you are from South America. You've come to this country and you've contributed. Whether you're from China or Korea, you've made contributions to this country.” I think it's important that those recognitions be brought forward.
What has to be put forward is an education piece that is concise and accurate and that is not missing information. It must be clear and consistent with the website information that gets transferred, and I think it's easily done. I think if the information is already there, it has to be packaged and marketed so individuals can, on a daily basis, pick up a book or go to the website or be inspired in some way by seeing some sort of a plaque or by going to a commemorative event that recognizes these contributions. These things will engage our young people and encourage them.
:
Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
Senator, thanks so much for being with us this morning.
This isn't my normal committee, so I'm finding it quite interesting. One of the things I always remembered when growing up was that my dad was a proud veteran of the Second World War and he spent five years fighting in Europe. I always remember him saying that it didn't matter who you were fighting beside, who you were fighting with; you were aligned with them, they were Canadians, and they were all fighting for Canada so they were all seen as equals. There was no division among the people who were actually in the forces.
You talked about the Korean War vets who have been honoured, and of course they have been, as have lots of others. We're starting to see now the ceremonies to commemorate the Afghanistan veterans, which include everyone who was there, whatever their ethnic background. You referred to some people who lied so they could serve their country. That's been historical and has always happened. Kids who were 16 years old lied in the Second World War and probably in the First World War too. I know that friends of my dad did and were able then to serve their country.
I understand what you're saying, but what kind of a reception have you received? Have you talked to veterans groups? Are the veterans themselves supportive of this? What kind of communication have you had with them?
:
I have not had extensive communication with the veterans groups specifically, just those around them—vis-à-vis Kevin Junor, who was decorated, as I said—who have been calling for this recognition. There's the detachment in Regent Park in Toronto, where he hails from, and also the soldier, Mr. Dyer, who was killed in Afghanistan hails from there. There is also another gentleman, whose name has just escaped me. There is consensus from the various groups across the country. The Victorious Legacy organizers have, again, been champions of this cause, saying that we need to recognize it.
It was great to hear the PM and Peter MacKay make these statements in 2009. Coming from the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada, it speaks volumes across Canada.
I think it's important that other groups are going to come on board as they see something. Sometimes out of frustration folks just give up, because they feel that it's not going to happen, so why even bother. But if you know my history, I don't give up easily. There is this sort of fighting spirit that's within me. I've fought for the rights of young people in our city to have a quality of life and to stay away from gun violence, and so forth, and that same spirit will take me into this battle. Hopefully it's not going to be a huge war, but we're going to be victorious in the end.
I think it's an important commemorative thing. And I've been supported by others in this room, and Senator Downe, Senator Oliver, and MP have also been very supportive of this initiative moving forward. I think it's important that as we reflect the diversity in this room, the diversity in this country, we need to reflect that within the military and the contributions also need to be reflective in the same way.
Thanks very much.
Usually, Mr. Chair, I say that I can speak for anywhere from twenty minutes to three days on remembrance. Today I'll try to keep it to ten minutes to respect the committee's guidelines.
Thank you very much for inviting us to talk to you about remembrance. Certainly any time of the year is a perfect time to talk about remembrance, but in the lead-up to Veterans Week and Remembrance Day, this is a particularly appropriate time.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has two business lines. One is, of course, providing services and benefits to veterans and assisting serving members in their transition to civilian life. The other business line is the Canada Remembers business line. The purpose of that business line is to ensure that Canadians are aware of the services, sacrifices, and contributions of our veterans and to encourage Canadians to take an active part in honouring those services and sacrifices.
Within the Canada Remembers program, there are a number of elements. There are national and international memorials. We are the stewards of some quite extraordinary cultural resources that belong to the people of Canada. We have 13 First World War battlefield memorials in France and Belgium, and we have responsibility for the Canada Memorial in Green Park in London, England. In addition, at the two largest of those sites, we have a student guide program that offers Canadian university students an opportunity to provide interpretive services to the one million visitors we receive at those two sites each year. We also have some responsibility, with other departments, for the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier here in Ottawa and for the seven books of remembrance, which reside here in the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower.
In addition, a really critical element of our work is public information and learning resources. We provide information to Canadians, in quite a wide variety of ways, about the military history of Canada and the service and sacrifices of our veterans. We have extensive information and material on our web site. We provide print materials, booklets, and historical sheets and that sort of thing, which are distributed throughout the country.
One of the most remarkable and most successful ones for really informing and engaging Canadians is the learning material we provide to schools, teachers, youth organizations, and veterans organizations across the country. We have comprehensive learning materials that are provided year-round, but each fall, in the lead-up to Veterans Week, we provide all 16,000 schools, as well as many youth organizations, with Veterans Week learning materials. These are particularly tailored to two groups: the kindergarten to grade six group, which get something called Tales of Animals in War; and the junior and senior high students, which get the Canada Remembers Times.
The sample kits provided to schools are also provided to all members of Parliament. Your offices would have received these in early September. Those are samples of the materials we have, and teachers order them in class packs of 30. Teachers have to actually do something, take an active step to request these. These kits have been remarkably successful, and teachers' feedback to us has been quite extraordinary. Two Veterans Weeks ago, in 2008, teachers ordered 2.3 million pieces of these Veterans Week learning materials. The following year there was a 38% increase to three million, and last year there was a further increase to 3.9 million.
So over the two years we had a 70% increase, and the evaluations by teachers have been very gratifying for the former educators who we have developing them, because 98% of teachers said that they were appropriate to the grade and learning levels of their students and that they were effective learning tools for them.
If you want teachers in these days, with a high pressure on curricula across the country, to teach about something, particularly remembrance, you need to make it easy. So we provide them with high-quality tools tailored to the curricula of the provinces and with comprehensive teaching guides so that they have lesson plans, etc., to be able to teach it. So we're very pleased with how successful that has been over the last few years.
We also have a number of online features and resources that are used by students in their research projects, such as the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, which is the official registry of all Canadians who have died in service to the country, as well as the Heroes Remember website, where we have thousands of hours of interviews with veterans of all eras, and those have been edited into clips that are available for viewing not just across Canada, of course, but around the world.
In addition, we have been one of the lead departments in government in venturing into the social media field. Two years ago we began Facebook pages in English and French on October 14, four weeks before Remembrance Day, and by Remembrance Day we had 170,000 friends, four weeks later. Over the last couple of years that has grown to now over 500,000 friends on the Facebook pages. As well, we have YouTube channels that allow us to post videos related to veterans as well as to link to videos made by Canadian students.
More recently we have smartphone applications that allow Canadians with smartphones or on the computer to find out what is happening in remembrance across the country, what events are taking place in their communities or near their communities--time, location, etc.
The most recent advertising campaign last year during Veterans Week was particularly important to us because a large part of it was the “I am a veteran” campaign to assist Canadians in understanding that veterans come in all ages and they're from all eras in Canada. I think those have been particularly effective, and those we will continue again this year with some improvements.
As well in Veterans Week, we have been challenging Canadians with a campaign that asks them how they will remember. It is intended to be a call to action to Canadians in asking them to take an active part in honouring service.
Across the country we work with communities and all sorts of not-for-profit groups to assist them in organizing remembrance activities, ceremonies, events, learning activities. We also have three funding programs that can assist here. The Community Engagement Partnership Fund can provide funding to not-for-profit groups that are organizing events anywhere in the country. We have the cenotaph and monument restoration program, which can assist, again, non-profit groups and communities in restoring some of the over 6,000 cenotaphs and monuments across Canada. And we have a new program that came into place last November that can assist communities in building new cenotaphs and memorials at the community level.
Veterans Affairs provides leadership in organizing ceremonies in many parts of the country, including many here in the national capital region. We have a benefit program as well within the Canada Remembers program, and that is the program that provides funeral and burial assistance to eligible veterans and all veterans' next of kin. On honours and awards, we provide new medals in the case of some veterans who did not receive medals when they left service, medals that they had earned. As well, we can provide replacement medals for medals that have been lost or in some cases stolen.
We are also responsible for maintaining the graves of Canada's war dead--110,000 Canadians died in the two world wars--and we do that through our membership in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and our funding of the commission. As well, we are responsible for maintaining approximately 250,000 veterans' graves. These are graves of Canadians who came back from military service and subsequently died and for a variety of reasons their funerals were paid for by the Government of Canada or their grave markers were erected at the expense of the Government of Canada.
Mr. Chair, I'll leave it at that.
:
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Derek and Peter, thank you once again, and to your staff and all the organizers who did the commemoration of the Battle of the Somme and Beaumont Hamel. You guys did an outstanding job. When you have six Newfoundlanders crying at every cenotaph they're at...it really was quite emotional. So thank you so much to your team for what you've done.
I have a couple of questions. It says you administer the honours and awards for the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. Do you administer the modern-day medals, such as for Bosnia and Afghanistan, that are lost or misplaced? Do you also do any of the South African and Boer wars? That's my first question.
Secondly, you talked about the program that allows some funding for new community-based cenotaph construction. Lloyd Swick, who will be appearing before the committee soon, is a World War II veteran who is setting up a community base, which I am part of, to have a monument for the animals placed at Confederation Park. The problem is that because it's at Confederation Park, DVA is not permitted to assist in the funding of that program. I'm just wondering if you have the answer why. If not, could you let us know later?
It's quite frustrating. If it was anywhere else but federal land, DVA could assist, but because it's at Confederation Park, where the aboriginal monument is and others are, they're being denied some access to funding. Could you elaborate on that, please?
Thank you once again for all that you do.
:
Actually, that's interesting, because a number of other countries are looking to what we're doing. That's been gratifying most recently, but there are certainly opportunities. For example, we know that in the coming years, with the centennial of the First World War on the horizon—the 100th anniversary will take place over a five-year period from 2014 to 2018—other countries have some pretty ambitious plans, most notably Australia. They haven't finalized what their plan is, but they have a list of proposals and some of them are quite significant.
I guess if there were something we could do that would enhance some of the overseas work we do.... We have, as I mentioned, about a million visitors a year at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. That's a wonderful way to project Canada in Europe. If there were enhancements we could make to our program of operating both of those memorials, including the visitor experience there, that would be a tremendous enhancement we could take advantage of.
If there's one thing that I would really like to see within Canada, it is even more ability to reach Canadians through the media all year round, but in particular during the fall period. For the last number of years we've been working in a different way, really: we're trying to bring remembrance to Canadians, rather than trying to bring Canadians to remembrance. We've been partnering with professional and amateur sports teams to do tributes to veterans before sports contests, whether it's for NHL teams or all of the major junior hockey leagues. We've now moved into university sports--university football, university hockey--and we've had just fabulous reactions from them.
That's an area that I think is particularly important for us to continue to expand, because there you're making remembrance part of the everyday lives of Canadians, rather than trying to drag them to where remembrance is, at monuments and at ceremonies.
First of all, statutory holiday designation for November 11 is a provincial jurisdiction. I believe eight of the provinces have November 11 as a statutory holiday. One of the provinces has it as a statutory holiday but not in all circumstances. It sort of crosses the line.
In two provinces it is not a statutory holiday, so students are not off school and people are not off work. It is a holiday, however, for businesses and organizations that are federally regulated, in all provinces. It's an interesting one.
It's a challenge for provinces to make their decisions, because there are arguments that can be made on both sides of this one. On the one hand, it would be wonderful for all Canadians to have the opportunity to participate in remembrance activities, ceremonies, etc., in their communities and be off work. The same can be said for students. However, there is a strong counter-argument as well. In fact, the Royal Canadian Legion has come out in favour of it not being a statutory holiday. The reason they have stated is that they feel students should be at school and have the day dedicated to learning about remembrance.
So you can see that there are strong feelings, and I would suggest strong arguments, on both sides of the issue for reasons that, in each case, you can understand.
I think the only person who has been on the committee long enough to remember this discussion would be Mr. Stoffer.
I am still bothered by the idea that Beechwood Cemetery and many other cemeteries across the country have what I would term to be unmarked graves. If I go to Beechwood today, I can find patches of grass where a veteran has been buried. I appreciate the fact that the Government of Canada or our funeral and burial program has provided a space for people to inter their loved ones who have served us so well, but not all of them have gravestones, markers, or even plaques to indicate who is buried there. The only way to actually know who is buried would be to ask the people who tend the graves. They have paper copies in their records of all the grave sites, and they therefore know that private so-and-so is buried there, but there's no indication whether in stone or in bronze in the earth for somebody visiting the cemetery to even know a body is there.
We go to great lengths on many levels with regard to newspapers, videos, slide presentations, and this, that, and the other damn thing, but for me, in terms of the “we will remember them” part of the ceremonies that we have every November 11, $1 million would make sense. I remember when Brent St. Denis was a Liberal member here and we actually calculated what it would cost for the couple of hundred dollars per thousands of them. We calculated that we could actually mark all of those graves for about $1 million.
I leave it as something for the committee to consider. We spend lots of money in this place on all types of other things. I think it would be a worthwhile project.
:
There are a number of them coming up over the next few years.
There are significant anniversaries that we recognize every year. A couple were mentioned earlier, which are the Battle of Britain, D-Day, Merchant Navy Day, and National Peacekeepers' Day on August 9 every year, or in many places on the closest Sunday to that date.
In terms of major cyclical anniversaries, we have the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 2012. On August 19, 2012, we have the 70th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, which is a truly Canadian commemoration. In 2013, in late July, we have the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. The big one that is coming up is quite a series of anniversaries during the entire 100th anniversary of the World War I period, beginning in August 2014 and going right through to November 11, 2018.
Those are some of the key anniversaries that are coming up.
:
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
On Mr. Anders' comments on Beechwood Cemetery, consider yourself asked, Derek and Peter. I do believe that a request was made at a previous committee to look into that, and with Mr. Anders' submission here it is obvious it hasn't moved forward yet. So if it is possible to look into that, that would be great.
The other point I have is that you talk about commemoration, but—and that is just me--as I go around the country I don't see very much commemoration of the Boer War. One of the concerns I have is that this is truly the forgotten one. That was the first time we organized battalions to go to Halifax and take a ship to South Africa. Over 250 lost their lives in that particular battle. I would like to know what commemorations are going to take place next year for South Africa, for the 110th anniversary.
As you know, next Christmas will be the 70th anniversary of Hong Kong, and you have a lot on your plate in this regard. You have indicated truthfully that as the veterans get older they can't travel any more. My fear is that no one will go to visit these sites on very special commemorative days.
Will there be opportunities for people such as you and others to travel to these sites on behalf of all Canadians to pay tribute and our respects to those who went before us so many years ago? That is not just Vimy Ridge and Beaumont Hamel, what I would call the more popular sites that most people know about, but very few people know about the Battle of Hong Kong, about where our first VC winner was. He's buried in Ethiopia. A lot of people don't know that, and there are these kinds of things to go forward.
As my last question, I understand there is a push on to recognize women in the military in the commemorative events, what women have done in our armed forces. What they have done is tremendous history as well.
:
Okay, there are some good ones there.
The Boer War, the South African War, is something that we in fact commemorate. I think if you look at the Canada Remembers Times this year and last year and the year before, you will see we have material on the South African War. We think it's important that Canadians, particularly young Canadians in this instance, are made aware of what happened, because for most Canadians it is entirely forgotten.
We're trying to correct that in terms of a special commemoration for next year, which, as you say, is the 110th anniversary of the end of the South African War. We don't have a particular event planned, but I am going to look into something we might be able to do here at the National War Memorial that would raise awareness further on that.
In terms of overseas commemoration, I do agree that it's important. We have 110,000 Canadians, or thereabouts, who are buried all around the world. It is important, I think, that Canadians pay tribute to them where they lie.
One very, very encouraging part of what we've seen over the last number of years is that increasingly large numbers of Canadian high school students, through the support of their teachers, are raising their own funds and travelling overseas to pay tribute to Canadians where they lie. While these tend to be on the major anniversaries, they don't just go to the major sites, such as the Canadian National Vimy Memorial or the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, they go to many other Canadian war cemeteries and Canadian memorials overseas.
Next year, for example, for the 95th anniversary of Vimy, there are already 4,000 to 5,000 Canadian high school students who will be participating in the ceremonies we will organize at Vimy next April. Last year we had over 2,000—2,200, I think it was—in the Netherlands for the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.
That's a very, very encouraging trend, to see young Canadians travelling overseas to pay tribute to Canadians where they lie. In fact the groups organizing for Vimy have many other events they're working on as well. Most notably, for the 100th anniversary of Vimy in 2017, we are expecting between 20,000 and 25,000 Canadian high school students. Some schools and organizations have already started planning for the 100th anniversary.
:
I'll start by saying that any veteran who dies as a result of their military service--so if they die as a result of an illness or injury for which they have a disability pension or disability award--Veterans Affairs will provide funeral and burial assistance without regard to their financial means at the time of their death.
In addition, Second World War and Korean War veterans who have insufficient means.... And that's based on a means test that takes into consideration whether or not they have a surviving dependant, usually a spouse, and it looks at what assets there are between the veteran and the surviving spouse. A couple of things are exempted--the principal residence and one automobile. Other assets are considered as part of the means test, the asset test, to determine whether or not they are eligible. If they have more than $12,700 in those other more liquid assets, they are expected to contribute to the cost of the funeral and burial. If they are a few hundred dollars over that line, then that is what their contribution would be, a few hundred dollars, and they would receive a partial funeral and burial grant.
For post-Korean War veterans, there is one difference in the eligibility criteria. In order to be considered for the means test, they must be in receipt of a departmental benefit. That could be a disability pension, a disability award, an income support, or, right now, earnings-loss compensation. If they die while in receipt of any of those benefits, then exactly the same means test is applied.
There are not necessarily plans in the works. There's actually a great deal being done now to recognize black Canadian veterans. I mentioned that we have a relatively small number of special features on our website paying tribute to groups of veterans. One of these web features is called “Black Canadians in Uniform”, and we've had that for two or three years. I forget exactly how long since we launched that. It in fact is called “Black Canadians in Uniform--a Proud Tradition”. It presents the history, from before the First World War right up to today, of black Canadians in uniform. It profiles in particular, as many of our things do, some individuals' stories as examples to highlight or profile. There are profiles of four black Canadians from each of the major conflicts over the last century or so. There is a photo gallery. We also have seven of our heroes remember, in interview clips, as part of this feature with black veterans.
Also, in the learning materials you have in front of you, in four of the last six years we've had special features on black veterans. In 2006 we had an article on Canada's black battalion. In 2009 we had an article entitled “Nova Scotia hero receives VC”, and that was on William Hall. In 2010 we had a story called “A Real Life Band of Brothers”, and it featured the Carty family. I can't remember exactly the number of members of the Carty family who served, but it was five or six. I can get you more information if you are interested. This year we also have a piece, in the paper in front of you, entitled “Recognized at Last”, and it's on Jeremiah Jones.
In fact there is quite a bit that Veterans Affairs does to specifically recognize black Canadians who have served and continue to serve. As well, Canada Post issued a stamp in the last few years, also recognizing William Hall. Other government departments and organizations have also taken a role.