Mr. Speaker, the events that marked World War I are quickly receding into the past. On Remembrance Day, it will be 78 years since the armistice was signed. Yet, there are still Canadian veterans who clearly remember these events. They are very lucid, and they still have the energy and the strength to tell us what they went through.
However, as the years pass, there are fewer and fewer World War I veterans who can tell younger generations about their experience as citizens of a young country who left to fight in Europe.
World War I was a defining moment in the evolution of our country. Our story is that of an inexperienced country engaging in a war, a country that still relied on the British Empire to guide it. At the end of that war, Canada was a still a young country but it had gained confidence and was able to take its place at international negotiating tables.
During Veterans Week, from November 3 to 11, I invite Canadians to make a special effort to listen to veterans.