Mr. Speaker, over the past two days national defence headquarters has been celebrating the 75th anniversary of the department and the 30th anniversary of headquarters.
As a member of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, I am delighted that the public has had this opportunity to learn more about the department and the men and women who serve there.
Over the summer I had the distinct pleasure of being a guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Ontario Regiment Veterans. I was presented with a poem written by Charles Province that I would like to share as a reminder of the supreme sacrifice made by so many:
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.