Mr. Speaker, we thank the hon. minister and the government for recognizing April 9 and for honouring the motion that was passed unanimously in this House to have a commemoration on April 9 for the last World War I veteran who, unfortunately, passed away.
As we all know, the great Mr. Babcock passed away in February of this year at the young age of 109, which is absolutely remarkable. There is a saying in military and historical collections that a mission never ends until the last person who serves that mission has passed away. The visual mission has ended but now the remembering begins.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that not only this Parliament but our Senate and collective legislatures across the country, in the provinces and territories, working with schools and various veterans' organizations, ensure that what those brave men and women did on the battlefields during World War I is never lost in the memory of all of us and those who will follow us in the years to come.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we never forget what Mr. Babcock did and 650,000 other Canadians have done. We also must ensure that we never forget the war effort at home where millions of Canadians collectively sacrificed, through food rationing and a variety of other programs, to ensure the war effort went well.
World War I and Vimy Ridge gave birth to our nation but many people forget that World War I also gave birth to another nation, the Blue Puttees of Newfoundland and Labrador. We also must not forget the sacrifice of the St. John's trench when more than 800 soldiers went over the top in 1916 and less than, I believe, 40 answered the roll call the following day. That gave rise and recognition to the Dominion in Newfoundland and Labrador of what a great nation that small island country was, along with Labrador and we consider their population and sacrifice and the fact that in 1949 we were given permission to join Newfoundland and Labrador to make it an even greater country.
This is the sacrifice and the unbelievable tenacity of these people. Can anyone imagine being like Mr. Babcock and lying about our age in order to go overseas and fight an enemy we do not know very much about?
On a gravesite in Passchendaele it states very clearly, “My son left his home so that you can live in yours”. On another World War II gravesite, it states, “He gave the greatest gift that anyone can give and that is an unfinished life”.
Our business is not finished, which is why I encourage, as others have, all members of Parliament, their staff and any visitors who come into the House of Commons to sign the Book of Remembrance in the great Hall of Honour, as well as legislatures across the country. We encourage all Canadians to take a moment out to sign the book and reflect for just one moment on the great sacrifice that so many Canadians made for us.
If we do that, then quite possibly we will be able to educate our children and their children on the great sacrifices that all Canadians have made. For those of us not born in Canada, we have always believed that Canada is one of the greatest countries in the world. However, that country was built and it was bred and it was done on the sacrifice and the blood of so many who went before us.
We are very pleased that on April 9 there will be a national commemoration ceremony across the country. We in the NDP and many of our colleagues across the country will be participating from coast to coast to coast. As we say in the Legions:
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
May God bless their memory.