Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak this morning on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois concerning the pilgrimage to the far east which will be undertaken later this week by the secretary of state, along with several parliamentarians and a group of veterans. The purpose of that trip will be to provide the veterans with the opportunity to honour the memory of their fallen comrades in Commonwealth cemeteries in Hong Kong, Burma, Singapore and Japan.
It is important for the vital role played by our veterans in the defence of freedom to be properly commemorated, particularly this year, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of V-E Day. We have already had a number of opportunities to recall to mind the selfless sacrifice of the men and women to whom we owe our heritage of freedom and democracy. This morning I would like to again express our gratitude to all of those who laid down their lives, and all those who were prepared to lay down their lives, in defence of that cause.
Such was the price of our allegiance to the values of democracy and peace and it is precisely because our young servicemen shared those values that they fought to uphold them throughout the world. More than 100,000 young Quebecers and Canadians lost their lives during the two world wars, and many hundreds more in Korea and various peacekeeping operations.
Today, we want to honour, more specifically, the war effort of our veterans in Hong Kong and other parts of the far east during the second world war. Ten thousand fighting men and women served there, and nearly a thousand did not return home. As the secretary of state rightly pointed out, the war effort in the far east was primarily an air war. The battles there were vital to the triumph of freedom and democracy.
Our soldiers were actively involved in reconnaissance, transportation, fighter and bomber squadrons. RCAF air crews and ground crews supported Commonwealth land forces in the war in the Pacific. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to them.
This pilgrimage is one of a number that have been made to different parts of the world, particularly Europe, where Canadians and Quebecers helped liberate Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands. The celebrations for V-E Day were particularly emotional.
The significant loss of human life and the horror of the suffering of our veterans in the far east, including all the members of Canada's troops of Chinese or Japanese extraction, must not be left to fade with time.
This heritage must be passed on to the very young. We are therefore delighted to learn that four young people will take part in the pilgrimage. They are at the same age that the veterans were when they left to defend our freedom.
The Bloc Quebecois is pleased to support this initiative.