Mr. Speaker, on Remembrance Day we think of our veterans from past wars. That is important. But how many Canadians remember our men and women who are currently serving and thank them for their courage and service?
Here today we have five soldiers who served in the former Yugoslavia. All were injured in separate actions.
How many of us are even aware that Tom Martineau was shot by a sniper while serving in Bosnia, that Matt Stopford was a platoon commander during the 1993 battle of Medak pocket, a four-day firefight in which Canadians held off a Croatian attack, that Sargeant Tom Hoppy has earned the honour of being the most decorated Canadian soldier since the Korean War, that Reservist Peter Vallee saw frontline action on three tours of duty for his country in the former Yugoslavia, or that Reservist Jordie Yeo was badly wounded in an ambush while his unit defended Srebrenica?
Canadians should know those things and this government should make sure they do. Sitting today in the opposition gallery we have these soldiers. They and their comrades deserve our thanks and our respect.