CORNWALL, Ontario – Thirteen years ago, Geannin Pilon and her family were visiting Parliament Hill in Ottawa and took a chance that would lead to a long wait, and a big red and white reward.
The family put their names down on a waiting list to receive a flag from the top of the Peace Tower in the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.
Geannin had almost thought that the flag would never arrive, when finally, earlier this summer she received a thick envelope. She knew immediately what it was, and waited until her adult children could be together before opening it.
The flag is so large that it could almost cover her garage door.
“She couldn’t believe it when she finally got it,” her daughter Liette said. “It is bigger than the bed.”
The flag she received was flown above the Peace Tower on Jan. 28, 2018.
Geannin and her family were lucky in a way that their wait was only 13 years. They were informed in a letter from the government that the flag program is so popular that now, Canadians have to wait more than 80 years to receive a Peace Tower Flag.
Liette says that her mom plans to hang the flag in front of her garage every Canada Day.
