Feds announce Firefighters' National Memorial Day
CBC News | Posted: August 25, 2017 4:06 PM | Last Updated: August 25, 2017
Feds investing $80M over 5 years in grant program to support families of fallen public safety officers
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced Firefighters' National Memorial Day in Regina on Friday.
The day will serve as a tribute to public safety officers who have died in the line of duty and will fall on the second Sunday of September each year.
"Each year, on that day, the Canadian flag will fly at half-mast on all federal buildings and establishments — including the Peace Tower — from sunrise to sunset," Goodale said.
In 2017, the day will fall on Sept. 10.
Goodale said the memorial day for firefighters is needed. A Police and Peace Officers' National Memorial Day was created in 1998. It happens yearly on the last Sunday of September.
"That's why we need Firefighters' National Memorial Day," Goodale said. To come together to remember, to mourn together, to support one another and to celebrate those wonderful lives."
Previously, the federal government announced it would be creating a new grant program intended to support families of public safety officers who have died in the line of duty.
The program will receive $80 million from the federal government over five years, beginning in 2018-19, and $20 million thereafter.
More than 1,300 firefighters have died on duty since 1848, according to the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation.