Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from the unspeakable evil of the Nazi regime, we pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of the 175,000 Canadian soldiers who played such a pivotal role.
My father, Sergeant Jack Bennett, was in Major Conn Smyth's 30th Battery and, after landing at Juno Beach, fought in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Scheldt and then defended the bridge at Nijmegen.
When I was 19, I stayed with the Dutch family that billeted my father during the war and I experienced first hand the bond that these events forged between our two countries. They took me to Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery. I walked between the white gravestones with the engraved maple leaves. I was struck by just how young so many of the 7,600 Canadians had been when they gave their lives in the defence of freedom.
May the tulips on Parliament Hill always remind us of the ultimate sacrifice of those brave men and women 70 years ago and may every day we honour and support the current members of our armed forces who continue to serve in harm's way.