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other interesting news
January 18, 2024
Canada and the Netherlands have long shared a close relationship, which has been strengthened by Princess Margriet’s personal ties to Canada. Since her birth in Ottawa during the Second World War, the Princess has held a special place in the hearts of Canadians.
Her Royal Highness’ work on behalf of her country is exemplary and so is her dedication to numerous humanitarian causes.
Every spring, thousands of tulip bulbs sent from the Netherlands blossom throughout the national capital. This special gift commemorates Canada’s role in the liberation of the Dutch people, and is symbolic of the personal friendship Canada shares with the Princess and her fellow citizens.
It is a pleasure to extend to Princess Margriet my hope for a wonderful birthday celebration with family and friends.
Princess Margriet turns 65 Ottawa’s royal birth celebrated in Civic Hospital Ambassador of the Netherlands, Karel de Beer, presents the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital with a plaque commemorating the birth of Princess Margriet of The Netherlands. Ottawa’s royal birth forged a special bond between Canada and the Netherlands, still alive today. Together with CEO Dr. Jack Kitts the plaque was unveiled during a small but formal event on Friday, January 18 at the Patterson Entrance of the hospital. As the Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis during World War II, the Dutch Royal Family was offered refuge in Ottawa, where, on January 19, 1943, H.R.H. Princess Margriet Francisca was born. In order to ensure that the Princess would be born on Dutch soil, the Canadian Government declared the Maternity unit at the Civic Hospital part of the Netherlands, thus ensuring her Dutch nationality. Bonds of friendship Canada and the Netherlands have long shared a close relationship, which has been strengthened by Princess Margriet’s personal ties to Canada. Since her birth in Ottawa during the Second World War, the Princess has held a special place in the hearts of Canadians. Princess Margriet has been instrumental in strengthening the bonds of friendship between Canada and the Netherlands and still plays an important role in keeping the Dutch relations with Canadian veterans alive. Princess Margriet’s work on behalf of her country is exemplary and so is her dedication to numerous humanitarian causes. Tulips in Ottawa Every spring, thousands of tulip bulbs sent from the Netherlands blossom throughout the national capital. This special gift commemorates Canada’s role in the liberation of the Dutch people, and is symbolic of the personal friendship Canada shares with the Princess and her fellow citizens. Dutch TV doumentary On the eve of her birthday,Dutch national television broadcaster NOS, aired air a special tv-portrait of the younger sister of H.M. Queen Beatrix. Princess Margriet took an active part in the programme, which shows her at work and at play with her grandchildren. More information Read Have a look at the NOS documentary:
Ambassador Karel de Beer of The Netherlands and CEO Jack Kitts of the Ottawa Civic Hospital unveil the plaque, dedicated to the birth of H.R.H. Princess Margriet of The Netherlands who was born in this hospital on January 19th, 1953 Representing Queen Beatrix Princess Margriet represents the Queen on many official occasions both in The Netherlands and abroad and is also on the boards of a variety of health, social welfare and cultural organisations. As its godchild, she maintains close links with the Dutch merchant marine. She also chairs the standing commission of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent and she is chairperson of the European Cultural Foundation. Celebrations At the Royal Carré Theatre in Amsterdam, Princess Margriet will celebrate her birthday on February 1st together with H.M. Queen Beatrix, who will turn 70 on January 31st.The entire royal family is expected to turn out for the event, a summary of which will be shown on television the next day. In Ottawa Ambassador Karel de Beer will unveil a plaque at the Civic Campus of the General Hospital in thanks to the staff for keeping the story of the birth of Princess Margriet alive.
RECOVERY OF STOLEN MEDALS OF FORMER DUTCH AMBASSADOR In April 2007 an irreplaceable collection of over 20 medals, awarded after WWII to the late Dutch ex-ambassador to Canada Dr. A.H.J. Lovink, was stolen from his son’s house in Calgary. The medals were found last month, dumped behind the Royal Canadian Legion facility in Calgary. Several volunteers and Wendy Sewell, office manager at the Defence Department of the Netherlands Embassy in Ottawa, spent quite some effort to track down the origin and owner of the collection. The medals were brought to Hon. Consul Irene Bakker in Calgary, who returned them to the ex-ambassador’s son, Mr. Jon Lovink. Mr. Lovink is very happy with the recovery of his father’s precious memorabilia. He was relieved that the priceless collection with high historical and sentimental value was returned to him.
DUTCH SKATING TEAM VISITING VANCOUVER A delegation of the top Dutch skaters and their coaches were in Vancouver recently to visit the site of the coming Olympic Games 2010 in Vancouver. Hans Driesser, Dutch consul in Vancouver accompanied the delegation during the site inspection. Mr. Gerard Kemkers, coach of the team, is pleased with the facilities, including the accommodation for the skaters. He admits that the Dutch skaters will need to be in top form to beat the Canadian team who will have the advantage of being on home ground. Construction of the skating oval is on schedule and is expected to be completed in September 2008. Before the Games, the oval will be used for a number of skating events. Due to the low elevation of the Olympic site, it is not expected that many skating records will be broken during the 2010 Games.
Ambassador de Beer was the guest of the honor during the annual St Andrews Diner of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, which was held on 24 November in Cornwall. The Ambassador officially handed over a street sign from the city of Zutphen in The Netherlands. The Highlanders were the liberators of Zutphen in april 1945 and in 2005 11 streets were named after the 11 Canadians who gave their lives during this action. The street sign for Cpl Hemming was handed over to be displayed at the SD&G Highlanders Museum.
To celebrate the 65th birthday of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, the television station NOS is preparing a documentary dedicated to the princess, who was born in Ottawa during the Dutch Royal family’s exile in WWII. The NOS crew visited many locations that were important in the early life of Princess Margriet, some of which, the Civic hospital where she was born, the house in Ottawa where the royal family lived and Rockcliffe Park Public School, where her sister went to school. The documentary will also portray the close relationship between the Dutch and Canadians, forged in particular during the Dutch Royal family’s stay in Ottawa during the difficult war years. Interview with Ambassador de Beer The next picture shows Ambassador de Beer and Consul General Glaubitz from Montreal looking at the official birth registration of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands. He was checking documents, stored in a very old safe, for the so called “inktvraat” when he came across this birth registration by accident.
 CANADA PRIMA LAND OM IN TE WONEN
Canada is volgens de Verenigde Naties een prima land ter wereld om in te leven. Dit blijkt uit een overzicht dat VN-ontwikkelingsorganisatie UNDP opstelde en eind 2007 presenteerde in de Braziliaans hoofdstad Brasilia. Canada komt op de vierde plaats. Nederland staat op de negende plaats.
De UNDP let niet alleen op inkomen, maar ook op welzijnzaken als gezondheidszorg en levensverwachting. Ijsland, dat jarenlang op de tweede plaats stond, passeert Noorwegen vanwege nieuwe cijfers over levensverwachting en het Bruto nationaal Produkt. Dat is in Canada trouwens al 42 keer hoger dan dat van hekkensluiter Sierra Leone. Op de derde plaats staat Australie, en Ierland op de vierde. Overigens, de Verenigde Staten zakte van de achtste naar de twaalfde plaats.
The Ottawa Roundtable on Security and Intelligence OPEN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT NEORADICALISM IN THE NETHERLANDS Ottawa U and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands recently organized a successful Intelligence Roundtable event around a sensitive issue: The Rise of Islamic neoradicalism in the Netherlands. This was the first of a series of public lectures and discussions of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs of the University of Ottawa, and co-sponsored by the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS, Two senior analysts from the General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands (AIVD) presented conclusions of a recent published report “The Radical Dawa in Transition: The Rise of Islamic Neoradicalism in the Netherlands”, the latest in a series of publications and alerts about radical Islam from the AIVD. Based upon the AIVD’s own operational investigations, as well as knowledge shared by other European security services, this report provides a detailed factual overview of the nature and extent of the problem of the propagation of an intolerant radical ideology and the actual risks that it poses the democratic order in the Netherlands An official English translation of the report is available on General Intelligence and Security Service at The phenomenon of Islamic radicalism as it impacts on Dutch security was well discussed during a questions and answers period after the presentation. Professor Wesley Wark of Ottawa U, and the representatives of AIVD were delighted with the positive feed back of the attendees.
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