Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand on behalf of my deceased father, my mother, my oldest brother and the rest of us who were born in Holland as the celebrations for the 55th anniversary of the liberation of Holland are happening now.
Many of our war veterans and their families, and the currently serving military as well as the reserves, are over in Holland right now celebrating with the Dutch people the great victory of the allied forces and that of the Canadian liberators.
Again, it comes from the heart when I say as a Dutch-born Canadian how truly proud I am that my father chose Canada. He once said to me, “If they have a military like that, imagine what kind of country they have”.
On behalf of all Dutch Canadians, the New Democratic Party would like to say to all veterans, their families, the current military, the reserves and the Parliament of Canada, thank you once again for the liberation of our country and God bless each and every one of you.