Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, today on each of the Members' desks, they will find a poppy. Many Members are wearing a red poppy on their lapels already. As most Members know, the red poppy is to symbolize the slogan, "lest we forget," lest we forget the millions of young men and women who, down through the years, have given their lives in the fight for the freedom we now enjoy.
The poppy, first introduced following the Second World War, comes from the poppy field of Flanders. The blood red poppy is to remind us of the blood shed on our behalf by Canadians continents away and, unfortunately, that is still occurring in such places as Bosnia, Africa and other places to this day.
We need not forget that World War I ended only 75 years ago, after four terrible years and next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. We must not forget the thousands of Canadians still buried in the soil of Flanders and other unknown graves across Europe and in the sea.
This past summer I visited only a few of the many Canadian cemeteries in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and was moved by the thousands and thousands of crosses of Canadian dead. I saw the endless list of names carved in the stones of memorials at Crosebeak, Vimy and Yeeps, the names of the known dead, but who have no known grave. Today we still hold parades, stand in moments of silence, pray and wear our poppies. We shake the hands of the older veterans and say thank you for their sacrifices, the sacrifice of blood, life and youth, the sacrifice of men and women, boys and girls, who have given their lives in these terrible wars. They deserve to be remembered this week and every week, lest we forget.
Lest we forget the immortal words of John McCrae: "In Flanders fields the poppies grow, between the crosses, row on row." Let us not forget. Thank you.
---Applause