Madam Speaker, on behalf of the New Democratic Party across Canada, my colleagues and I join with all members of the House in recognizing this coming Tuesday as Remembrance Day.
We believe that we would do well to pause and reflect on its meaning. I will do so myself. I had four uncles who served in the second world war, three of whom were prisoners of war. They do not discuss those days with me very much but I know that they have paid a great price for the freedom that I have to be here today.
We should also remember and honour all those who have made the supreme sacrifice and who willingly gave everything for the cause of peace, and for the cause of democracy.
We must remember the sacrifices and commitment of all those who pursued peace on our behalf in all of the wars, conflicts and peacekeeping missions around the globe.
Also we must not forget the contribution of those Canadians who served in the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion in the Spanish civil war and the members of the merchant marine.
I take this opportunity to remember someone familiar to this House who worked tirelessly for veterans and who showed, perhaps, what we can do, a Canadian who devoted much of his life to securing benefits for those gentlemen and ladies who served in the war and their families. That is the late Stanley Knowles. He was a tireless champion on behalf of our veterans and achieved much on their behalf.
We believe that it is part of our obligation to try and build the kind of world for which our veterans gave their lives. We believe this is a time for us to renew our commitment and our efforts in the pursuit of peace and democracy around the globe. We hope we will find a way to make life better for those who suffered and continue to suffer as a result of war.
We are honoured to join in this moment of recognition and remembrance for those who died and for those who served and are still with us. In the tradition of Remembrance Day, we say from our hearts, we will remember them. Their spirits watch us in this House and watch how we deal with the legacy left to us.