Legion President Receives First Veteran's Plate
SERVICE N.S./MUNICIPAL RELATIONS--Legion President Receives First Veteran's Plate
A legion president from New Glasgow has received the first Nova Scotia licence plate manufactured especially for veterans.
Fred Mombourquette received the licence plate today, Feb. 11, from Peter Christie, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations and Bill Langille, chairman of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs during a ceremony at the Normandy Branch of the Legion in New Glasgow.
"The veteran's licence plate is one of the ways that we say thank you to those people who have served us, protected us, and honoured us in uniform," said Mr. Christie.
Mr. Mombourquette is the president of the Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of the Royal Canadian Legion and a veteran of the Second World War.
Mr. Christie said Mr. Mombourquette received the first veteran's licence plate in recognition of the Legion's efforts on behalf of veterans.
To qualify for a veteran's plate, an applicant must have served in the Canadian Armed Forces or with an allied service for three years. If the applicant served in a theatre of war, with NATO or on a United Nations peacekeeping mission, the three-year time limit is waived. Applications must be certified by the Legion before a plate can be obtained from the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
Veteran's licence plate applications are available from Access Nova Scotia Centres and Registry of Motor Vehicle offices and from some branches of the Royal Canadian Legion. They are also available on the Access Nova Scotia Web site at www.accessns.ca .
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations charges $5 to exchange a driver's existing licence plate for a veteran's plate. This fee is only charged when the plate is issued; standard permit fees will apply for future renewals.
The Veteran's Licence Plate program was announced in Halifax in November 2002. To date the legion has approved about 500 applications.
The licence plates are made by Waldale Manufacturing of Amherst. The firm supplies many other jurisdictions across North America with licence plates.