2010: "65th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands"

From Veterans Affairs Canada:

This year we recognize the 65^th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. Remembrance events and activities will be held across Canada and in the Netherlands, providing opportunities for Canadians to learn about Canada's role in the liberation of the Netherlands.

Notice - Government of Canada events to commemorate the 65^th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands

Air travel restrictions to the Netherlands have now been lifted. As a result, all events planned by the Government of Canada to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands will be held.

Ceremonies and Events

Canadians are encouraged to participate in local events in honour of our Veterans and those who continue to serve this country today. A calendar of commemorative events in your area and events held overseas can be found in this section.
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History

The Liberation of the Netherlands, from September 1944 to April 1945, played a key role in the culmination of the Second World War, as the Allied forces closed in on Germany from all sides. The First Canadian Army played a major role in the liberation of the Dutch people who had suffered terrible hunger and hardship under the increasingly desperate German occupiers.
More »...[and more here]

And a story in the Toronto Sun:

Canadian vets, Dutch bond endures

LONDON, Ont. - Don't make this a war story, says Canadian veteran Pat Reidy.

Canadian veteran Pat Reidy enlisted at age 15. (Mike Hensen, QMI Agency)

No, says Reidy -- who's earned the right to tell battle tales for the rest of his life if he chooses -- it's instead a generations-long tale of romance.

"I think the greatest love story of World War Two was the relationship between the Dutch people and the Canadian soldiers, now veterans. It's endured. It's never ended."

Now, 65 years after the Second World War ended, Reidy is one of few veterans left to bear first-hand testimony to that relationship.

A celebration in London next month -- and a larger one in the Netherlands -- will likely be the last large commemoration of its kind with veterans [emphasis added].

And as Dutch citizens and Dutch-Canadians -- Canada has more than one million people of Dutch origin, with Southwestern Ontario home to the largest population of them -- mark the event, so, too, do veterans...

More on the liberation from the Juno Beach Centre, plus a video and audio clips here, here and here from the CBC Archives. Information on Canadian War Cemeteries in the Netherlands here.

Update: More on events in the Netherlands:

...
The following major events are planned as part of the National Program to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland.

May 4, 2010, Holten
Commemoration service at Holten Canadian War Cemetery, 1,393 war graves at 11.00 a.m.
Followed by the opening of the Remembrance Centre by a member of the Dutch Royal Family.

As in others years schoolchildren participate in the Remembrance Ceremony by reciting poems and laying flowers on each grave of the fallen soldiers. The cemetery is located between Holten and Nijverdal, 20 kms east of the town of Deventer.

May 4, 2010 Amsterdam
National Memorial Service in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam followed by a ceremony at the National Monument on Dam Square at 08.00 p.m.

Remembrance Ceremonies will take place in many cities and villages in Holland.

May 5, 2010, Wageningen
Afternoon Liberation Parade in Wageningen.

May 6, 2010, Bergen op Zoom
Commemoration service at Bergen op Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, 1,118 war graves at 11.00 a.m. Bergen op Zoom is 60 km south of Rotterdam.

May 6, 7 and 8, 2010, Voorthuizen
Voorthuizen Military Tattoo, “Tribute to The Veterans”, with 900 performers from Canada, England, Scotland, USA, Poland, Oman, France and the Netherlands is a tribute to among others, Canadian, English and Polish veterans.Thousands of veterans and accompanying Canadian students are expected to attend one of 5 performances. Voorthuizen is located between Amersfoort and Apeldoorn.

May 9, 2005, Apeldoorn
Afternoon Liberation Parade in Apeldoorn

For a complete listing of events see the web-site of NCTYC, www.TYCAF.com

Liberation Tours
Canadian veterans who participated in the liberation of Holland, travel companions and families are invited to stay with host families or stay in a hotel and take part in the official National Program. Verstraete Travel is again the official Canadian representative for Thank You Canada & Allied Forces and Welcome Again Veterans. Contact Verstraete Travel, phone 416-969-8100 or 1-800-565-9267 or www.verstraetetravel.com for more information...

Prime Minister Harper will be there:

...He will...take part in 65th anniversary ceremonies marking Canada’s participation in the liberation of the Netherlands on May 5, 1945.

The role of Canadian troops and the fact that the city of Ottawa took in Dutch Princess Juliana and her two daughters during the war – a third was born in Ottawa – has led to a strong bond between the two countries...

Update:

BERGEN OP ZOOM, the Netherlands — Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid tribute Thursday [May 6] to soldiers who fought and died to liberate Holland 65 years ago — and called on Canadian youth to think hard about the heavy price paid for freedom.

Under brilliant blue skies and surrounded by neat rows of white grave markers, Harper placed a wreath at a war cemetery where 968 Canadians are buried. He praised the veterans for their sacrifice and spoke directly to students who journeyed from Canada to learn more about the war...

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said freedom must not be taken for granted and warned that we must be alert to intolerance, discrimination and anarchy that threaten to steal it.

Balkenende thanked Canada for bringing hope and promise to a country filled with despair and oppression, and praised the students for walking in the footsteps of their forebears in 1944 and 1945.

“It is essential that we pass on the torch of history to the next generation, that we continue to tell the story of war and the story of peace, so that every day we feel in the fibres of our very being, how precious freedom is,” he said...