Thank you, Mr. Speaker. More than 20 years ago, when I moved to Yellowknife from the eastern Arctic, there were half a dozen people who lived in Yellowknife at that time who had fought in the First World War. Four of them had even been at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Those people are now dead, however we have a generation of people who fought in the Second World War.

Mr. Speaker, I was in Europe just recently during the celebrations of the Victory in Europe Day. More than 20,000 Canadians went to Holland to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Victory in Europe. It reminded me of 1945 when, as a young kid, I remember every street having street parties. There were hundreds and hundreds of kids, races, dances in the streets and so on. I know many veterans in Yellowknife who fought in the Second World War and who were there during that time, realize that although it seems very remote, and such a long, long way away from here, that was the last world war, we hoped. That war -- and Mr. Patterson has just remarked on what democracy is all about -- really, was to try to do something to protect the democratic institutions that we all value. It was a battle against dictatorships and totalitarian systems.

For that reason, many of the veterans from Yellowknife realized, after visiting Europe, that they should be doing something even here, as far away as we are, from where that war took place. It was a world war, it wasn't just a local war. It was something that embraced the whole world. I know very soon, Mr. Speaker, that you will be approached to see if the veterans can't do something to commemorate that anniversary in some form, through Mr. Whitford, in this great hall of ours. I hope that we can give them a positive response, to recognize that that war really was to support and protect democratic institutions such as this, where the people are involved and you aren't pushed around just by one voice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause