The federal government has agreed to assist in purchasing land from an investor who planned to build residential apartments near the historic Juno Beach landing site in France. The land is located on the border of the Juno Beach Centre, a Canadian museum operated by the private sector, which has celebrated, for nearly 20 years, the commemoration of the World War II landing day that claimed the lives of hundreds of Canadian soldiers.

For more than two years, the museum has been engaged in a legal battle with the French investor Vonsim, who planned to build two buildings near the beach with 66 residential apartments. Construction was scheduled to begin as early as this fall.

But sources said the local council in Courseulles-sur-Mer decided last week to repurchase the land with the Canadian government. Canada’s contribution will be about 4 million dollars.

The dispute between the investor and the Juno Beach Centre largely revolved around the use of a road - la Voie des Français Libres - built and operated by the museum. Vonsim planned to use the road during construction.

The museum tried to block the investor’s access on the grounds that the construction—which was called an “existential threat”—would disrupt access to the site.

In April, Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence Macaulay pledged to do “everything he can” to resolve the dispute after meeting with the mayor of Courseulles-sur-Mer and the French Minister Delegate for Remembrance and Veterans to emphasize the importance of commemorating the Canadians who died at Juno.

On the day Macaulay made that statement, Frank Caputo, the Conservative veterans affairs critic, toured the museum in a show of bipartisan support. The dispute attracted the attention of many Canadians, including those who formed the Save Juno Beach group to oppose the apartment project. Cindy Klyge, the group’s spokesperson, said in March: “It was a wonderful battle and examples of bravery and courage stood out.” “And now, I think there are apartments rising right next to [the beach] where people can go on vacation and scream and shout and play radios loudly in this battlefield, it makes me sick.” An official announcement is expected Friday morning at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.                       Edited by: Yusra Bamtraf