Mr. Speaker, today I am honoured to pay tribute to Roger Cyr, long time president of the Hong Kong Veterans' Association and a tireless and successful advocate for veterans' rights, who passed away on May 26.
Out of one of the most tragic events during World War II comes a story of heroism and determination. After Hong Kong fell to the Japanese, roughly 1,200 Canadian soldiers were forced into slave labour for almost four years. Roger Cyr made it his personal goal to see that every one of these soldiers was compensated for his unjust treatment and eventually the Canadian government did just that. It paid them an average of $22,000 for their forced labour.
During Remembrance Day ceremonies in 1998, Mr. Cyr had the unprecedented honour of standing beside Governor General Roméo LeBlanc during the march past of veterans and took the salute. He deserved a salute from his comrades then, just as he deserves to be recognized and remembered by all Canadians today.