Mr. Speaker, for this Remembrance Day, I want to thank the women who have and are representing us so well in the Canadian Armed Forces. I have witnessed their resilience and strength, both as veterans and as active members at 19 Wing Comox.
I remember a SAR tech who helped hoist me up in a helicopter for a mock rescue, demonstrating amazing skills. When I asked her how she could throw herself into the ocean to save someone in the middle of a storm, she told me, “You just practice until it's what you do, and you don't think about it”.
A veteran who served in World War II said that she fought hard to be respected as a woman in the forces. She expected me, in this place, which is still male-dominated, to never stand down but always stand up. That is what she fought for.
I want to acknowledge all the women who have served and are serving. I am so grateful for your challenges and your victories. As Yvette, a veteran in my riding, said, “It's what you do, isn't it, when you're called to serve? You sacrifice your freedom for someone else's.”
Canada remembers.