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Please check out the recent edition of  Kerry’s Connector

Glad to support Burgers to Beat MS at A & W today. Great cause. Kudos to all who are stopping at an outlet today in support.

The office of Kerry Diotte, Member of Parliament (MP) for Edmonton Griesbach, is seeking a candidate to fill the full-time position of Constituent Assistant in Edmonton.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter who takes initiative and possesses strong interpersonal skills. The candidate must possess sound judgement and absolute discretion.

Position Description:

• Assisting residents of the riding of Edmonton Griesbach to get help from federal government departments
• Liaising with community leaders and organizers
• Seeking out key events and activities for the MP to attend in the community
• Organizing the member’s local schedule
• Occasional weekend and evening events with the MP

Qualifications and Experience:

• Degree or diploma in a relevant field or equivalent work experience
• Strong interpersonal communication skills including professionalism on the phone
• Excellent writing, organizational and time management skills
• Works well as part of a team in a professional setting
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook

Assets:

• Previous political work experience
• Proficiency in a language other than English
• Social media abilities
• Basic skills with smartphone photography and video

Interested candidates should send their cover letter, resume and writing samples to the attention of Sally Harris at: kerry.diotte@parl.gc.ca

**We thank all for applying, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted. **

Thanks to everyone who came to my Celebration of Canada event in my riding of Edmonton Griesbach where a special invitation was extended to folks new to Canada. Great way to get the jump on Canada Day.

By KERRY DIOTTE

Twenty five years ago, I had the most memorable journalism assignment of my career and one of the best experiences of my life.

I accompanied hundreds of Canadian and American D-Day veterans on a trip aboard the QE2 cruise ship from New York City to Southampton, England to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944. The wide-ranging trip included visits to the beaches of Normandy, France.

My assignment was to write a daily newspaper column about the journey and it wasn’t difficult. All I had to do is listen to the stories of these brave veterans – and there were legions of those stories, so powerful they’d make your spine tingle.

These were people who were mere kids when they made the original voyage to the beaches of Normandy – in rudimentary, uncomfortable marine vessels – determined to do their part to defeat the Nazi menace.

They were returning – deservedly so – aboard a luxury vessel on a memorial trip that featured entertainers and celebrities who were popular during World War Two; people such as Bob Hope, Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney and the Andrews Sisters entertained and mingled with the vets.

Like today’s 75^th anniversary, there was much pomp and ceremony for the 50^th anniversary that featured Queen Elizabeth II, the prime ministers of Canada and Britain, as well as the president of the United States.

But it wasn’t the pomp and ceremony that resonated with me. The experiences I remember most fondly included the unadulterated admiration the French citizens had for these heroes. Women and children who weren’t even born during the war hugged and kissed the aging war vets at special ceremonies where entire towns closed down for the day.

I’ll also never forget the tears in the eyes of the veterans when they stood in Canadian graveyards that were the last resting places for their brothers and comrades in arms. I remember, in particular, one tearful veteran who brought a jar of soil from a Saskatchewan farm to sprinkle on the grave of a brother who never made it home again to their Prairie homestead.

But overall, my strongest takeaway from spending the better part of a week with these liberators was seeing their strength of character, their patriotism and their awe-inspiring sense of duty. I was always haunted by the nagging question: Would I have volunteered to serve my country the way these vets did? Would the youth of today volunteer en masse that way?

On this trip I was especially struck by a fellow who later lived in my Edmonton riding, veteran Paul Lefaivre. I got to know him well. As a member of the Royal Canadian Navy, he’d come ashore on the beaches of Normandy aboard a landing craft and lived to tell his story that included seeing an incredible array of marine vessels and planes and experiencing the acrid smell of gunpowder.

I could never fathom how it was that so many young people signed up to military service to go abroad and risk death. When I asked Paul why he did it, he was typically humble like so many others who joined up for service in those days.

He told me: “It was just the thing to do. Your buddies were going and you didn’t want to be left out.”

Paul was a rock–solid guy and I kept in touch with him since our meeting 25 years ago. I’d sometimes swing by his assisted living home in Edmonton Griesbach and once made a special point to give him a Parliamentary scroll – to congratulate him for receiving a very special honour.

He’d been awarded France’s National Order of the Legion of Honour, that country’s highest decoration, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Sadly, I got a call from Paul’s son about nine months ago. It was bad news. Paul had passed away at the age of 94, I was told.

During this commemoration of the 75^th anniversary of D-Day, I fondly remember Paul and all the other veterans who sacrificed so much for us – so we could enjoy our freedom.

We should never forget what they did for us.