There are heroes walking among us. They are Canada’s veterans and at this time of year we are given a special opportunity to show them our gratitude.

Perhaps you have already had the opportunity. Many veterans can be found this week at local shopping malls and grocery stores selling poppies for the Royal Canadian Legion. For a few pennies or more the scarlet red poppies are worn on our lapels as a symbol of solidarity, of respect for what our veteran’s endured and for the freedoms we enjoy because of their sacrifice.

In the House of Commons last Thursday, November 1, each Party rose to pay tribute to Canada’s veterans to mark Remembrance Day week November 5th to 11th.

The Minister of Veterans Affairs used his speech to remind us how important the act of remembrance is and gave a poignant account of his experience in France this year where those who were liberated by Canadian troops made a special effort to show our veteran’s how important they are. He said:

“Last April when our Canadian delegation went to France to mark the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, there was an early morning ceremony held in Monchy-le-Preux. It was not a national holiday and it was not a civic holiday, but the entire town was there. Banks were closed. Businesses had shut their doors. Farmers, housewives and school children came from villages far and wide.

It always happens like this. When Canada comes to commemorate its fallen soldiers, the grateful people of Monchy-le-Preux, as with their sister communities, want to be there with us. They simply want another chance to say thank you.

This gratitude is real and it is lasting. It is handed down from generation to generation, like a family treasure, a sacred bond that will not be broken.”

I know that when Mayor Shepherd led a local delegation of veterans and civilians from Kelowna to visit our Sister City in Veendam, The Netherlands, earlier this year they experienced the same emotion from the people of Veendam.

Sunday is our opportunity to show our veteran’s that the bond is sacred at home too.

This Sunday, November the 11th, I encourage all of you to join with your community and honour our veterans at one of our cenotaphs in Lake Country, Lion’s Park in Rutland, or Kelowna City Park.

If the weather is inclement, as it can be on November the 11th, don’t be dissuaded. Think of the people of Monchy-le-Preux or Veendam coming out en masse to show their remembrance.

More importantly, think of the soldiers who, so many years ago, stood in the trenches up to their knees in mud enduring the cold, and rain, and snow. They did it for us. They did it for Canada. Surely we can do it for them.
Lest we forget!