Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I like other Members of this House conducted a constituency meeting in my riding of Hay River to hear from my constituents on the subject of national unity. An interesting feature of this meeting was the representation at the meeting by members of our community who are classified as senior citizens. I observed this with interest, and I took it to mean that perhaps, national unity was an issue of grave concern to people who had perhaps lived through or close to any era when our country and the freedoms we enjoy were threatened from external circumstances and forces.
This year, as I attended the Remembrance Day services at the Royal Canadian Legion, for the first time I was struck by the fact that when you are a child, you hear stories of your parents' childhood and their circumstances in life and sometimes it does not sink in. This year, I realized that my mother's two brothers were not much older than my two sons are now when they headed off to Europe with the Canadian Armed Forces.
One of her brothers returned and the other was buried in a field along with scores of his comrades in France. All they got back was a letter of thanks from the Canadian government and a Union Jack tied up in a package. This arrived at their door as thanks for the sacrifice of the life of their son. I also love this country and the freedoms we enjoy and I hope we never take these for granted. To that end, I do not fully understand what drives the agenda of Quebec sovereignty. I believe we would be remiss if we did not try better to understand what past offences perhaps that had been committed or what has caused some of the regional misunderstandings and feelings of marginalization in our country.
Another strong message which came out of my constituency meeting was the need for greater understanding of each other's issue. Not only understanding but mechanisms of communication and expression, ways of expressing appreciation and friendship. How we address these shortcomings is an area we need to challenge our citizens with, maybe even particularly our young people. Coming up with ideas as to how, we as Canadians, can create a better understanding amongst all regions of Canada. Some at the meeting attributed Quebec's need or desire or agenda for sovereignty to the leaders of the day in that province, and as the leadership changes perhaps there will be a difference in the mood in Quebec. Having said these things, I do not want to duplicate what other Members have already addressed in their statements. I want to state that for myself. I am committed to optimism in relation to the future of our great country and its leadership. I believe there is hope of a resolution of the outstanding issues and the promotion of meaningful and a fulfilling place for everyone within the context and the boundaries of Canada as we now know it. I am also very proud to be a Canadian and I would like to commend the Premiers for their efforts for embracing this very important subject.
Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting the resolution before us today. Thank you.