Mr. Speaker, throughout our history this Parliament has asked Canadians to cross the oceans to fight for a better world. For more than 100,000 who answered the call, it was a better world and a better future they would never live to see.
While young Canadians have gone to the front lines, we members of Parliament have stayed here in the sanctuary of this House, striving to build a country worthy of their sacrifices.
During Veterans' Week, we recognize that above all it is our men and women in uniform who have made Canada one of the great nations of the world. Peace, freedom and democracy are their legacy at home and abroad.
Like the hon. member for New Brunswick Southwest, I have been on Canadian delegations to the sites of old battlefields and was deeply moved by the traces I found there of their fight for peace, freedom and democracy.
In 2005, I travelled to the Netherlands to take part in the ceremonies marking the sixtieth anniversary of its liberation. I was deeply saddened by my visit to the Canadian military cemetery of Groesbeek. In the rows of gravestones there, I could see what the price of freedom was. I can say too, though, that I felt enormous pride at the sight of a crowd of more than 100,000 men, women and children who had come to see our veterans march past through the streets of Wageningen.
In another city in the Netherlands, new streets had been named after Canadian soldiers who died for the freedom of Holland. The children there learn the history of our soldiers better than our own children do.
The gratitude expressed by the Dutch people was very touching.
This Veterans' Week, Canadians will reflect on the sacrifices of the veterans of the last century while mourning the loss of today's Canadian heroes in Afghanistan. This Remembrance Day, we will remember and revere them, along with their fallen comrades.
I will stand with Agatha Dawkins, mother of Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, in my riding of Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, as I have for the last five years. We will remember her son. We will remember his sacrifices as well as hers.
Over the last century, wars have left their mark on thousands of Canadian families. Children have lost parents. Parents have had to bury their children. And how many marriages have ended in a single bomb blast?
This past summer, I saw the sacrifices of war first-hand when I met with military families in Dieppe, New Brunswick. Listening to their stories, I was able to better understand the impact Canada's current presence abroad is having here at home.
Providing for these families is the least we can do. Providing comfort to those who have lost loved ones and remembering those who have served and continue to serve is the absolute least our country can do.
From November 5 to 11, we must pay tribute to our veterans by honouring their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families. On Remembrance Day, we must stand together in a moment of silence to demonstrate our commitment to their legacy.
But a moment, a day, or a week will never be enough.
The Canadian soldiers sacrificed the best years of their lives and their dreams for the future to defend the values we all hold dear.
In the tunnels of Vimy, on the beaches of Normandy, and in the deserts of Kandahar, they have given their lives so that we can live free.
We need to pass on their history to the next generation of Canadians so that these soldiers will never be forgotten.
In 2005, during Veterans' Week, former national defence minister Bill Graham said how important it is to hold high the flame of remembrance and gratitude, a flame that burned so brightly during the Year of the Veteran.
That same year, we paid tribute to our veterans by opening the Canadian War Museum.
Visitors here can experience the human side of war through the panels, military artifacts, photographs and personal accounts on display.
In the Canadian War Museum, the lives of the approximately 1,500,000 men and women who have served in the Canadian army, navy and air force are etched into the memory of visitors.
Our young people learn things here, we hope, that will help them avoid similar tragedies in the future.
There are not a lot of countries that have ever sent their armies abroad for reasons other than to help peace and democracy. We must be very proud of the fact that Canada is one of them.
Feeding the flame of remembrance also means ensuring the dedication of our soldiers is matched by our resolve to do all we can to protect their safety and preserve their health. That is the reason we delivered the new veterans charter in 2005.
The government must match the higher level of sacrifice it asks of our military with the resources soldiers and their families need to cope with the impact of the mission on their health and future. I encourage the government and all members of the House to accept this solemn responsibility.
In Flanders Fields, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae recognized the poppies growing amongst the crosses as a symbol of hope, of the triumph of nature over the destructive forces of war.
In this House, let the poppies we wear over our hearts remind us of our responsibility to our troops. Let us keep faith with them and feed the flame of their remembrance.