A Métis veteran in Port Hope, Ont. was honoured Saturday for his contributions to the Second World War.
At a ceremony in the town, Métis National Council Minister of Veterans Affairs and National Spokesperson David Chartrand honoured veteran Joseph Willmer Gagnon.
According to a press release, Gagnon enlisted on April 26, 1941 and was assigned to the Canadian Forestry Corps of the Canadian Army as a truck driver.
He spent most of his wartime service overseas in Holland. His father, Henry Holenger Gagnon, had fought in the Canadian armed forces during the First World War at Vimy Ridge and Passchaendaele in 1917.
Chartrand presented Gagnon with a cheque for $20,000 under the terms of the $30 million Canada-Métis Nation Métis Veterans Recognition Payment Agreement.
“Today’s ceremony marks another important recognition of these Métis heroes whose contributions were long overlooked,” said Chartrand. “We will remember all of them.”