IV 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 286 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 31, 2011 Ms. Slaughter submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing, on the occasion of the 52nd annual meeting of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group in September, 2011 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the immeasurable assistance Gander International Airport, the Government of Canada, and the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, provided to the United States immediately following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.

Whereas the United States Federal Aviation Administration ordered United States airspace closed at 9:45 EDT, and all United States-bound flights were ordered to land at the nearest airport; Whereas immediately following the closure of United States airspace, Transport Canada ordered the closure of Canadian airports except for outgoing police, military, and humanitarian flights, and incoming Canada and United States bound international flights; Whereas this marked the first occasion that either the United States or Canada closed its airspace; Whereas Transport Canada initiated Operation Yellow Ribbon following the closure of the United States airspace to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights bound for the United States; Whereas the purpose of Operation Yellow Ribbon was to remove all air traffic from United States airspace and away from potential United States targets as quickly as possible to minimize further terrorist threats; Whereas NAV CANADA, Canada’s civil air navigation services provider, recorded 239 aircraft destined for the United States and Canada landing safely in 17 airports in Canada; Whereas Newfoundland and Labrador welcomed more airline passengers than any other province, with 13,000 stranded individuals; Whereas about half of the 75 aircraft that landed in Newfoundland in fact landed at Gander International Airport, which is known to airline pilots around the world as the lifeboat of the Atlantic and is the first North American airport on the trans-Atlantic route; Whereas before the terrorist attacks, Gander International Airport was scheduled to receive 8 flights that day and instead received the second most number of flights, at 38, and the second most number of passengers, at 6,600, out of all the Canadian airports during Operation Yellow Ribbon; Whereas the Town of Gander in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, has a population of approximately 9,600, only 3,000 more than the total number of stranded passengers; Whereas the citizens of Gander and other Newfoundlanders provided stranded passengers with food, clothing, shelter, medicine, potluck suppers, guided tours, whale-watching excursions, and impromptu concerts over the course of three tense and uncertain days; Whereas the kindness and generosity offered by the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador to stranded United States passengers will forever be remembered as an embodiment of human compassion; Whereas the stranded passengers have since sponsored scholarships for Newfoundlanders, donated computer equipment to area communities, financed a new conference room for the Gander area community of Lewisporte and held annual reunions to show their appreciation for the goodwill of the citizens of Gander; Whereas the United States owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador; Whereas all local Canadian communities surrounding the affected airports also welcomed the large number of passengers and accommodated them in their homes and public facilities; and Whereas the United States also owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to all Canadian airports and the surrounding communities that welcomed the remaining flights, including— (1)1 flight to Deer Lake Regional Airport, 21 flights to St. John’s International Airport, 7 flights to Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, and 8 flights to Stephenville International Airport in Newfoundland and Labrador; (2)47 flights to Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia; (3)10 flights to Greater Moncton International Airport in New Brunswick; (4)10 flights to Montréal-Mirabel International Airport and 7 flights to Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Quebec; (5)14 flights to Toronto Pearson International Airport and 4 flights to John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Ontario; (6)15 flights to Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in Manitoba; (7)6 flights to Edmonton International Airport and 13 flights to Calgary International Airport in Alberta; (8)1 flight to Yellowknife Airport in the Northwest Territories; (9)3 flights to Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport in Yukon; and (10)34 flights to Vancouver International Airport in British Columbia: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives recognizes and thanks the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland, and all other citizens across Canada who, during a time of unprecedented crisis, challenge, and uncertainty, came to the aid of United States citizens and forever cemented the generosity, goodwill, and mutual understanding that has defined the bilateral relationship between the United States and Canada.