HALIFAX -- The Nova Scotia government today honoured Lt. Edward Francis Arab as part of its Heritage Day celebrations.
Born in Halifax in 1915, Arab was the grandson of some of the earliest Lebanese immigrants to the province.
He joined the Canadian Officers' Training Corps during his teens at Dalhousie University, where he received his bachelor's degree and graduated from law school.
Arab opened a law firm that earned a reputation for cases involving issues of prejudice and racism, and he helped established the Canadian Lebanon Society, sitting as its first president.
He volunteered to fight in the Second World War as part of the Canadian Infantry Corps, and in 1944 he was killed with members of his regiment in the Dutch town of Bergen op Zoom.
Premier Stephen McNeil and several of his cabinet ministers took part in today's pre-taped virtual ceremony paying tribute to Arab.
"He fought for equality, for human rights and for our country where he made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty," McNeil said in a news release.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2021.
