Prime Minister Stephen Harper expresses Condolences for Polish President Kaczynski

April 18, 2010

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today expressed his condolences on the occasion of the State Funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and First Lady Maria Kaczynska in Kraków, Poland. 
 
Prime Minister Harper will send the Books  of Condolences, the Canadian flag that flew on the Peace Tower and the Polish flag that flew on Parliament Hill last Thursday, the national Day of Mourning, onward to the Polish people. 
 
“The enduring strength of the Polish people is rooted in their unflagging faith in God, their unshakeable commitment to family, and their unbroken capacity for forgiveness,” said the Prime Minister.  “The people of Poland can also draw strength from the million-strong community of Canadians of Polish descent.  When Poland grieves, Canada grieves.”
 
President Kaczynski, the First Lady and numerous political, military and civil society leaders were tragically killed on April 10 in a plane crash en route to an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre.