Mr. Chair, the pandemic has been difficult for people all across Canada, but in my home province of Nova Scotia, we've experienced so much heartache.
For a place as friendly and beautiful as Nova Scotia to experience Canada's largest mass shooting is inconceivable. At a time when we would normally join our friends and family to mourn loved ones and fellow Nova Scotians, we were forced to stay apart, but that didn't stop us. We joined each other virtually in song and in spirit to mourn those we had lost.
When we thought our hearts couldn't take anymore, we heard the news that a Cyclone helicopter out of 12 Wing Shearwater had crashed on its way back to HMCS Fredericton. Six lives were lost. Collectively, we mourned.
Then we received news that one of Canada's iconic Snowbirds was down and that Captain Jennifer Casey from Halifax was lost in the crash. Together we mourned.
We will not let tragedy take away our spirit and what it means to be Nova Scotian. “As sure as the sunrise, as sure as the sea, as sure as the wind in the trees, we rise again”.