Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise in the Chamber today on behalf of my caucus to pay tribute and give thanks to our war veterans as Veterans Week begins. I will start by thanking the Minister of Veterans Affairs for his comments and indeed for the deep sentiment and strong patriotism that underlie them.
This is not the first time I have had the privilege and honour to rise in the House to pay tribute to our most courageous citizens. Indeed, since coming here in 1993 I have done my best to speak out for our veterans and their needs. That said, this is the first time I have done so in a time of war. It is only in the aftermath of the September attack on the U.S. and our subsequent war on terrorism that we are able to remember the September attacks on Poland and the war against tyranny waged by our best and brightest two generations ago.
When I think of the men and women in uniform who have been committed and dispatched to our current campaign I am always reminded of the day when my brothers came home to tell my mom and dad that they had signed up to fight in the second world war. They signed up in Saint John, New Brunswick to fight the Nazi threat in Europe. While thinking of them I am again brought to terms with those compelling feelings of hope, fear, pride and humility.
We owe so very much to our veterans and I fear that through the passage of time and the relative peace and tranquility in which we were blessed to live, much of their selfless sacrifice has been forgotten. On September 11, however, we were given a vivid and vicious reminder that the defence of freedom is both difficult and never ending. We were reminded in the cruellest way possible that our country needs its heroes and, though there was never any question in our minds, Canada's armed forces have answered the call. The best of this generation have, like their parents and grandparents before them, put their lives in harm's way in the defence of all things truly Canadian.
It is in many ways perhaps ironic that the two month anniversary of the terrorist attack in the U.S. will fall on November 11. As we gather at cenotaphs all across the country, we will remember the losses not only of the last century but those of the last few months. It might even be said that there has never been a more symbolic or significant Remembrance Day. This week as we honour those who have fallen let us remember those who stand on the front lines of freedom a world away. This week as we consider our contribution and commitment to the principles that have served us so well since Confederation, let us remember those who have always stood to protect those principles in times of peril and those who do so as we speak.
Above all else, let us pray under the watchful eye of our protective God that we are victorious in this campaign as our great veteran heroes have been in the wars of the past. We will remember them.