Minister MacKay announced a one-time government contribution of $240 000 to the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust in support of the naval memorial HMCS Sackville, and the Canadian Naval Memorial Project. Further, on behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, announced a contract award of $455 400 to Akoostix Inc. for a Sonar Processor.
Minister MacKay took the opportunity to announce the contribution of $240 000 in support of the naval memorial HMCS Sackville, and the Canadian Naval Memorial Project.
“HMCS Sackville is a witness to our past and reminds us of our Navy’s accomplishments during the Battle of the Atlantic,” said Minister MacKay. “Canadians can be proud of our Navy’s rich heritage and our contribution to preserve the vessel for the benefit of future generations.”
“The young men who sailed in the North Atlantic on corvettes like Sackville proved critical to victory in the Battle of the Atlantic, which was the key campaign of the Second World War,” said Vice-Admiral Paul Maddison, Commander Royal Canadian Navy. “I am extremely pleased that the Government of Canada is contributing to the Canadian Naval Memorial Project.”
The Canadian Naval Memorial Trust was formed in 1982 by a group of retired Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) members who sought a forum through which they could preserve, in a living fashion, the history of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). In 1985, the Government of Canada designated Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS)Sackville as Canada’s official naval memorial, dedicated to telling the story of the RCN and to preserving Canada’s naval wartime heritage. The Canadian Naval Memorial Trust operates HMCS Sackville as a living memorial and interpretation centre, which depicts the life of Canadian sailors who served in the RCN to keep the sea lanes between Europe and North America open during the Second World War.
Despite efforts at ongoing maintenance and support, weathering and the environment contributes to the continued deterioration of the ship. Over the past 10 years, this deterioration has intensified and the Trust has indicated that the long-term preservation of the Sackville can only be assured if the vessel is placed in an environmentally controlled berthing facility that is free from corrosive elements.
To that end, the Trust embarked upon the Naval Memorial Project, which seeks to construct a Naval Memorial Centre on the waterfront in Halifax, Nova Scotia with funding coming from private donations and other levels of government. The Naval Memorial Centre will house HMCS Sackville in a berthing facility that is publically accessible and yet protects the ship from continued environmental degradation. The $240,000 contribution from the Department of National Defence will support the Trust’s funding needs for the design of the Naval Memorial Project building(s).
The Naval Memorial Project will ensure the preservation of HMCS Sackville so that she may continue to serve as a reminder of the sacrifice of so many Canadians who died on the seas defending the freedoms that Canadians today enjoy.
The CNMT was formed with a mandate to preserve the Second World War era Flower-class corvette as a Naval Memorial and museum, providing professional interpretation of the ship within the larger scope of the Royal Canadian Navy’s own history.
