NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF BARRIE
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This morning, dignitaries and local community groups came together to recognize the official opening of the City of Barrie’s Military Heritage Park.
The new park, located on the south shore of Kempenfelt Bay, just east of the South Shore Centre, symbolically references Canadian military history using landforms distinct to each era of national and overseas military campaigns in a passive and reflective landscape.
The Military Heritage Park is divided into a series of passive landscapes that will act as a self-guided, educational experience. The park also contains a ceremonial square, educational displays and signage, and new interconnecting trails, which will accommodate public travel throughout the park, and allow it to be integrated into the city’s new Heritage Trail system.
Construction of the park started in June and finished earlier this month. The project was completed in cooperation with the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, with funding up to $572,440 delivered through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, as well as partnerships with Barrie Rotary Club and CFB Borden.
“The Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program will preserve and improve our community infrastructure, so that Canadians and their families can enjoy moments of culture, sport, recreation and leisure for years to come,” said Francesco Sorbara, Member of Parliament for Vaughan–Woodbridge. “I am honoured to celebrate the newly revitalized Barrie Military Heritage Park and see the lasting benefits for this great community.”
“I believe we’ve created a park of which our entire community can be proud of,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “This will be a place for people to learn about and reflect on the efforts and sacrifices that Barrie and Simcoe County citizens made for our country over the last century. Barrie has always had a strong connection to our military, and so I am very proud that this place of reflection, unique in Canada, is in Barrie.”
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