Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Mr. Houle is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran. He has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion since 1981 and has held numerous executive positions during that time. He initially took part in organizing veterans activities. He then began helping veterans fill out their claims for benefits and resolve issues in their dealings with the Government of Quebec. In 1995, after fire ravaged his Legion branch, Mr. Houle participated in the reconstruction of the building, the restoration of the Legion’s historical archives and the planning for the branch’s reopening ceremony. In 2001, he served as vice-president and treas-urer on the 2002 Thank You Canada committee, which organized an activity for French and Belgian delegates visiting Canada that involved World War II vehicles. The purpose of the visit was to thank Canadian veterans who served during the Second World War. In 2003, Mr. Houle was a member of the Compagnons d’une terre à l’autre committee invited by a group of Belgians to visit Europe in the company of veterans to educate scouts about the importance of commemoration and enable the veterans to pass on their knowledge to younger generations. In 2007, Mr. Houle and the Compagnons planned a second visit to Europe to commemorate the history of the Trois Rivières Regiment during the Second World War. Since then, through his hard work and dedication, Mr. Houle has helped to organize two other European visits in which he participated. He is currently working on preparations for a fifth visit to mark the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.