Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise to offer Remembrance Day remarks on behalf of the New Democratic Party of Canada and our leader, Avi Lewis. As Veterans Week begins and communities across Canada prepare to gather for Remembrance Day, we come together to honour all those who have served our country in uniform. We remember those who never came home; we remember those who returned carrying wounds, both visible and invisible; and we honour the families whose love, strength and sacrifice sustained those who served and who serve.
This year, Remembrance Day is made even more poignant by the recent loss of four Canadian Armed Forces members during a training exercise at CFB Wainwright: Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lykkemark. Many more were injured, some gravely. As their loved ones grapple with this unfathomable, heartbreaking loss, we stand with them today in their grief.
Behind every uniform is a human being: a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a partner, a parent, a friend. When tragedy strikes, it is not just military families that mourn, but entire communities and a grateful nation. That is why we wear a poppy, not as a symbol of military glory but as a symbol of remembrance and gratitude; a reminder of lives interrupted, of futures never realized and of the profound human cost of war.
The history of military service in Canada is not one story but many, each bound by the same willingness to sacrifice for their country. One of the most remarkable chapters in this history is the service of indigenous veterans. Even when they were denied the rights of their fellow citizens, first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples answered our nation's call. They served with courage and distinction, fighting for freedom overseas even while facing injustice at home.
As I hail from Vancouver, I must also recount to this House the many moving ceremonies I have experienced at the Chinatown Memorial Monument in historic Chinatown, along with my colleague from Vancouver East. Like their indigenous comrades, Chinese Canadian soldiers also bravely served overseas while facing discrimination and denial of their own civil rights by the society they valiantly defended. Their contributions, sacrifices and resilience must never be forgotten.
Canada stands proud of the oversized contributions that we have made in the cause of freedom. In the First World War, over 600,000 people served, out of a population of eight million. From daring exploits in the air to their unbelievable courage at places like Ypres and Vimy Ridge, Canadian soldiers helped birth the independent country we know today. More than one million Canadians took up arms to defeat fascism during the Second World War, one of humanity's darkest chapters. They stormed the beaches of Normandy, fought through Italy, sailed dangerous Atlantic convoys, liberated occupied peoples and helped defeat the Nazi regime and its machinery of genocide. As fewer veterans of those generations remain with us, the responsibility to carry forward their stories now belongs to all of us. That sacred duty extends to Canadians who served in Korea, the Balkans, Afghanistan, on peacekeeping missions and countless operations undertaken in the service of all of us.
In honouring this service, we must also recognize the brutal reality of war. Those who have witnessed it first-hand understand, like no others, that beneath the language of strategy, of victory and of national interest lies something far more profound. War's true cost is measured in shattered families, lifelong trauma and lives that can never be restored. It invariably kills and wounds the innocent as well as the enemy. It destroys property, cities and cultural monuments. Its consequences outlive the conflicts themselves. That is why remembrance is not about celebrating war. It is about understanding its tragedy and renewing our commitment to peace.
It also calls us to action. The greatest tribute we can pay our veterans lies in how we treat them when they return home. To fully honour veterans, we must ensure timely access to health care; provide robust support for mental health and operational stress injuries; and ensure that no veteran is ever left homeless, isolated or living in poverty.
We must keep the promises made when they answered our country's call. Remembrance requires more than gratitude. It demands respect and resources. Most importantly to veterans, it demands that we work for a world in which our children are never again asked to bear the brutal burdens of war.
As we all gather in our communities this week, let us reach out and do something simple but meaningful, such as wear a poppy, attend a ceremony, thank a veteran, listen to their stories and share those stories with the next generation. In the end, we remember because democracy, freedom and human rights have never come without sacrifice. We remember because the most fitting way to honour those who served is to build a country worthy of their sacrifice, and a country that cares for its veterans, rejects the forces of hatred and strives always for a more just, compassionate and peaceful world for all.
Lest we forget.