Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the annual Police and Peace Officers' Memorial that will be held in Ottawa this Sunday. I am honoured to attend, representing the official opposition.
As NDP public safety critic, I want to thank today all those who serve our communities as police and peace officers for the work they do each and every day to make our communities safer.
I want to pay special tribute in the House today to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives in the line of duty in the past year.
On Sunday we will be paying tribute not only to the three RCMP officers brutally murdered in New Brunswick earlier this year, Constable Douglas J. Larche, Constable Dave J. Ross, and Constable Fabrice G. Gevaudan, but also to Toronto police constable John Zivcic and Saskatchewan conservation officer Justin A. Knackstedt, who were also killed in the line of duty since the last memorial.
Though every name we add to this list of honour is one too many, this year we truly have too many names to add.
I am sure that other members of the House will want to join me in extending our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of these Canadian heroes.