Mr. Speaker, Captain Richard (Steve) Leary of Brantford was killed yesterday in Afghanistan.
Captain Leary was the son of Richard and Gail Leary, husband of Rachel and brother of Brandi.
He was much loved and admired by all who knew him.
He is described as a very good man, a person who wanted to make a difference and who wanted to make people feel safe.
He surely succeeded. He died making the people of Afghanistan feel much safer and much freer.
Allow me to say in Captain Leary's honour and memory what Winston Churchill said in this chamber in 1944 in describing the courage and the heroism of Canada's soldiers: “you did your duty--you were magnificent”.