Vimy Ridge no-shows

Citoyen Dion and the Président de la République (amongst others) are otherwise engaged and will be unable to attend the ninetieth anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the dedication of the newly restored Canadian National Vimy Memorial:

Opposition leaders are complaining that Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn't invite them to the 90th anniversary celebrations of the battle of Vimy Ridge until it was too late to accept.

"This should be above partisan politics. He should be a statesman, he should have invited us since a long time," Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said Tuesday.

But Harper insists they had a chance.

"I always leave these decisions to the opposition, whether they want to come or don't want to come, but they're certainly welcome," he said.

The three leaders claim they have commitments that couldn't be changed and will be sending MPs in their place.

[...]

The main event is scheduled for Easter Monday.

While the opposition leaders won't be there, another notable no-show will be President Jacques Chirac of France, although Queen Elizabeth will be in attendance...

God save the Queen.

Mark C.

Update: You can find Vimy-related websites here.

Posted by markc at April 5, 2007 09:39 AM