Burlington Council Approves Looking into Twinning Relationship with Courseulles-sur-Mer, France
During the July 15 City Council meeting, my report on the MO-03-19 Juno Beach Trip Report (presented to the Committee of the Whole on July 8) recommending Council approve, in principle, a twinning relationship with Courseulles-sur-Mer, France, and direct the City Clerk in consultation with the Mundialization Committee to report back to Council by October with options and costs was approved.The full recommendations included:
- Receive and file Mayor’s Office report MO-03-19 regarding D-Day Anniversary – Juno Beach trip; and
- Express a strong interest in a twinning relationship with Courseulles-sur-Mer, France; and
- Direct the City Clerk in cooperation with the Burlington Mundialization Committee to report back to Committee of the Whole in Q4 2019 with options for twinning with Courseulles-sur-Mer; and
- Direct the City Clerk to provided proposed criteria, for committee’s consideration, for future twinning relationships including consideration of a city in a developing country.
Please also see the Appendices related to the report including: MO-03-19 Appendix A-Activities Report / M0-03-19 Appendix B-Full Trip Itinerary / MO-03-19 Appendix C-Full Trip Costs.In June, I and a staff member travelled to France to represent our city for the 75th anniversary commemorative events of D-Day at Juno Beach as a result of the connection Burlington has to the Juno Beach Centre Museum and the war effort of D-Day and beyond in the Second World War. Having learned of our city’s significant role in preserving the memory of Canada’s contributions to the Second World War (particularly from the Juno 75 event we held here in Burlington on May 6) and, at the request of the host community, I believe it is essential to formalize and continue our relationship with Courseulles-sue-Mer and the Juno Beach Centre.MY TAKE:Folks know the importance of Juno Beach — it was a deciding point in the Second World War and it’s the reason we can all do what we do during in our daily lives. It is a debt we can never repay. The Juno Beach Centre wouldn’t have been built without Burlington residents, particularly Garth Webb. For these reasons and more, we have a deep connection with the Courseulles-sur-Mer and should explore a twinning relationship with them. And as Councillor Rory Nisan had put it during the Committee meeting, one of the reasons twinning relationships exist is to build international friendships in an effort to avoid future wars.RELATED LINK: