Mr. Speaker, I rise today to publicly thank our military on behalf of the official opposition.
During the recent ice storm which devastated eastern Ontario and Quebec Canadian troops played a crucial role in repairing the damage and ensuring the health and safety of Canadians. Our soldiers enthusiastically assisted with whatever needed to be done, whether it was helping hydro crews to restore power, protecting powerless neighbourhoods from looting or transporting the sick to medical facilities.
The vital role played by our military yet again during another natural disaster brought the attention of Canadians to the importance of our armed forces. It is unfortunate however that we do not often enough acknowledge the hard work and vital contribution our regular forces and reserves make each day to our national security.
While it is good for us to recognize the important work that our troops did to help deal with this natural disaster, I thank the men and women of our forces every day for working so hard and risking so much to make me, my family and my country safe and secure.