Mr. Speaker, it is truly an honour for me to speak today in the House.
Wearing the poppy during Veterans' Week is a small but powerful symbolic gesture. It is an opportunity for all citizens to show their gratitude to those throughout history who fought for Quebec and for Canada, for freedom and democracy, and who paid the price in body and soul.
This ritual dates back to the armistice of 1918, when bugles sounded at 11 a.m. on November 11, ending 1,561 days of war that left nine million people dead or missing, but it has since expanded to encompass all veterans of all wars.
We now remember veterans of the Great War, World War Two, the Korean War, the operations in Cyprus, the conflict in Rwanda, the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the war in Afghanistan. We also remember those who fought at the Somme, Pas-de-Calais, Vimy, Dieppe, Hill 355, Sarajevo and Kabul. In all these battles, Quebec soldiers fought under the Canadian flag and gave us countless reasons to be proud of their acts of bravery and their sacrifice.
In recent years, thanks to the Internet, Sergeant Léo Major was elevated from obscurity to iconic status, and with good reason. The history of this soldier, a veteran of the Second World War, is so impressive that today we wonder why there is no movie recounting his remarkable life and incredible exploits, aside from a very well-made documentary produced by a Quebecker. Major was nicknamed “the one-eyed ghost” after losing an eye to a phosphorus grenade. He refused to return home and continued to fight. As a sniper, he aimed with the one eye that still worked, because nothing was going to stop him.
After surviving the Normandy landing, he carried out numerous amazing feats, single-handedly liberating the city of Zwolle in the Netherlands after the tragic passing of his comrade-in-arms, Willy Arsenault. The man known as the “Québécois Rambo” was one of only three soldiers in the Commonwealth to receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal twice in separate wars.
We could also mention the military exploits of the Régiment de la Chaudière, the Royal 22nd Regiment and the 425 Bomber Squadron, nicknamed “Les Alouettes” after the famous song, just like Montreal's football team today. These French-Canadian units are, quite rightly, a source of pride for all Quebeckers.
For a Quebec sovereignist like myself, this commemoration, which unites 54 countries of the British Commonwealth, is an opportunity to remember that our goal of becoming a country builds on the values that these heroes fought for, and maintains unfailing solidarity with our historic allies.
However, along with this sense of pride comes the duty to remember all those who have fallen on the battlefield and whose names are lost to history. We also have a duty to show solidarity with all those who, despite having returned from the front, continued to have the horrors of war play out in their minds and paid the price of this dedication their entire lives.
Given the conflicts that we are seeing in the world today, we cannot help but look to these heroes of yesterday and yesteryear, as they confront us with the atrocities of war and the immense amount of courage it takes to face them. From the comfort of our country at peace, may we always maintain this humble deference to those who paid the ultimate price to preserve our freedom.
Let us wear the poppy next to our hearts. Let us donate to a veterans' organization. Let us talk to a veteran. Let us take a moment to reflect and remember the contributions and sacrifices of these men and women, our veterans, our heroes.
Lest we forget.