Madam Speaker, this Remembrance Week, we do more than remember those who sacrificed for our country; we also remember why they served.
My father's family was in the Dutch resistance during World War II. He was just a little boy, but he never forgot the liberation. My father got his first candy from a Canadian soldier. Particularly today, after what happened last night in Amsterdam, it is more important than ever that we learn the lessons of history and never again allow xenophobia and hatred to take hold.
We need to defend and protect our pluralism, democracy and shared humanity. For all of those who served, for the women who had to fight just to stand shoulder to shoulder, for indigenous veterans who faced discrimination, for 2SLGBTQI+ veterans who were purged, for Persian Gulf War veterans who are still fighting for recognition, for those who came home with visible and invisible wounds and for those who never came home at all, we honour and thank them. Lest we forget.