Volvo Group announces funding for construction of memorial along Ontario’s Highway of Heroes
By On-Site Staff
Financing
Leo Hawkes, president of Volvo Financial Services in the Americas, speaks to attendees.
WHITBY, Ont.—Just a few months after the federal government committed $2.9 million to construct a living memorial along Ontario’s Highway of Heroes, the project has received financial backing from the Volvo Group.
The campaign, which aims to raise a total of $10 million, will see two million trees planted beside a 170 kilometre stretch of Highway 401 between Trenton, Ont. and Toronto in memory of Canada’s military veterans and fallen soldiers.
Following the ceremony at Intrepid Park in Whitby, Ont., members of the Canadian Armed Forces, military veterans and volunteers from the local community planted 300 trees in support of the campaign.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a campaign event June 14 alongside Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay at Intrepid Park, the former site of Camp X and a secret paramilitary training installation for covert agents during the second world war.
“I am very proud of the collaboration between Volvo Trucks, Volvo Financial Services, Mack Trucks, and Volvo Construction Equipment in support of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign,” said Paul Kudla, managing director for Volvo Trucks Canada. “This is the first time that Volvo Group in Canada has coordinated our efforts as a team in support of a cause. We feel passionate about working together with this organization for two reasons, as it reflects one of the Group’s core values; care for the environment; and the importance this highway corridor holds for our customers, as they travel and work on it daily.”
Mark Cullen, chairman and co-founder of the campaign, said the goal is to plan one tree for each of the country’s “Armed Forces heroes.”
“Through the support of corporate partners, like the Volvo group, as well as Canadians from coast to coast, we’ll be able to match every dollar that Veterans Affairs will provide with over two dollars from corporate, private and other funding sources,” Cullen said to attendees.
Canadian Armed Forces member Corporal Nick Kerr was presented with the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation at the event for his volunteer work on the campaign since 2016.
The tribute is expected to be complete by 2022.
