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Dutch Heritage Day gets Commons’ nod

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Chatham-Kent-Leamington MP Dave Van Kesteren will retire knowing he left a legacy that honours Canadians who share his ancestry and thanks those who welcomed them.

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The private member’s bill M-207, which the local MP introduced in late January to have May 5 designated at Dutch Heritage Day in Canada, received unanimous support by the Canadian Parliament on April 10.

“It is my hope that with the establishment of Dutch Heritage Day, Canada recognizes the voice of the grateful nation that says, ‘Thank you, Canada,’ and in response Canadians, recognizes all that the Netherlands has given to us and says, ‘Thank you, Holland,’” stated Van Kesteren in a media release.

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“Canada shares so many things with the Netherlands, but the greatest bond was forged in 1940, when the Royal Dutch family took refuge in Canada, during Second World War, and with the future Queen Juliana giving birth to Princess Margriet in an Ottawa hospital, a room was declared to be extraterritorial and for the first time the Dutch flag flew on the peace tower,” Van Kesteren said during a speech to the Commons on Jan. 28.

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“Then as destiny would have it, Canadians found themselves fighting for the liberation of the Netherlands, and on May 5, 1945, the Netherlands was made free once again,” he added.

In appreciation for that sacrifice, Van Kesteren said the Dutch began to send tens of thousands of tulip bulbs every year – the Dutch National flower, followed by the gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs that were given by the Royal family after the war. Each year Canadians make pilgrimage to the Netherlands, and the Dutch children along with their parents lay flowers and tend graves of the cemeteries and memorials.

Following the Second World War over 200,000 Dutch immigrants settled across Canada, contributing to Canadian society in all walks of life. Today over one million Canadians can trace their heritage to the Netherlands.

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“I hope that celebrating every May 5 as Dutch Heritage Day, will have a similar legacy, and cherish this friendship and bond for years to come.”

Van Kesteren said in an earlier interview that he put a lot of thought into this private member’s bill knowing it was his last term as an MP.

Born just two years after his parents arrived in Canada from Holland, he said: “I got to get a front-row seat to see what it’s like to be an immigrant in a new country, what it’s like to struggle, what it’s like to have all these opportunities, what it’s like to be accepted within a culture.”

Van Kesteren said working to have Dutch Heritage Day established is “my way to honour my country (and) honour the sacrifices that were made by those that liberated the country of my parents.

“I thought it would be a good way to go out,” he added.

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