November 6, 2005
read by Bill Chambré
During Veterans’ Week, we pay tribute to those who have courageously helped to protect the values and freedoms that we enjoy as Canadians.
This year, Veterans’ Week has a special significance because it is the focal point of the Year of the Veteran, a year-long celebration of Veterans’ contributions and sacrifices.
It is important to remember Veterans’ Week, for not all nations enjoy peace and freedom as we do in Canada. Our peace, freedom and democracy have come at a tremendous cost.
During the past 100 years, some 1.5 million Canadians have worn the uniform of the Canadian Forces in conflicts overseas. More than 110,000 have not come home.
Veterans’ Week is a time to learn about this aspect of our shared Canadian heritage. It is a time to reflect on the meaning of peace and freedom as we gather to thank the men and women whose courage, selflessness and sacrifice contributed so much to our current way of life. Many of the freedoms we enjoy today — such as the freedom to express our views and to participate in cultural, religious and political activities — were secured for us by our Veterans’ courageous actions.
We owe it to our Veterans to remember the sacrifices they made for us, to reflect on the ways the tradition of military sacrifice they began continues to affect our nation, and to respond by creating and preserving peace and freedom for future generations.
I would like to take some time to explain exactly who we mean when we use the word Veteran. When we refer to our Veterans, we are talking about the men and women who served in the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean Conflict, and those who have served in the Canadian Forces since the Korean Conflict ended. We honour these people, their bravery, and their sacrifices during Veterans’ Week.
Canada’s history is filled with examples of our Veterans’ courageous actions. During the First World War, from 1914 to 1918, almost 620,000 Canadians, nearly one tenth of the population at that time, joined the war effort.
These were ordinary Canadians who made extraordinary sacrifices, interrupting their lives to fight for peace and freedom. Few were prepared for the horrors of the “Great War.” More than 66,000 people — a generation of Canadian youth — gave their lives.
Twenty years later, Canadians, including more than 3,000 Aboriginal Canadians, saw action in Europe again during the Second World War. One of our numerous heroes was Private Ernest “Smokey” Smith. During the Italian Campaign, he single-handedly disabled a German tank, drove back more than ten enemy soldiers, rescued an injured comrade, and held his position under heavy close-range attack from grenades and machine gun fire.
For this action, Smokey Smith received the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for military valour. He was one of only sixteen Canadians who received the Victoria Cross during the Second World War, and he was Canada’s last surviving Victoria Cross holder.
In 1950, another major conflict erupted in Korea. During the three-year-long Korean Conflict, Canada was one of the 16 countries that fought together as part of the very first United Nations military action. 26,000 Canadian Forces members served in Korea.
These were dark times in world history, but our Veterans – and the millions of Canadians who supported them – were motivated not by glory, but by their belief in peace and freedom.
Since the Korean Conflict, tens of thousands of Canadians have participated in dozens of peacekeeping and peace support missions in more than 35 countries. More than 125 have died.
As a nation, we can be—and should be—proud of Canada’s near fifty-year peacekeeping history. But peacekeeping operations have changed. During the past fifteen years, traditional peacekeeping missions have evolved into a broad, multidisciplinary kind of operation we call “peace support.” Canadian Forces members have served in peacekeeping and peace support operations all around the world: in the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa, the Arabian Gulf, Southwest Asia, and the Caribbean. Our contribution to these types of operations has helped to elevate Canada to a position of international prominence and esteem.
Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, new and more complex security challenges have emerged. Failed and failing states have created regional instability, human catastrophes, and despair. Global terrorism has become a deadly adversary, as demonstrated by the attacks in New York, Madrid, Istanbul, Bali, Mombassa and London.
In this new threat environment that is likely to persist well into the future, the first and highest priority of our military will be the defence of Canada. We will also continue to work with the United States towards the defence of North America.
However, this enhanced focus on domestic and North American security will not reduce Canada's strong international role. Security at home often begins with security abroad.
Today's front lines stretch from the streets of Kabul to the rail lines of Madrid to our own Canadian cities. Around the world, Canadian Forces members are engaging in peace support operations that are becoming more complicated and more dangerous.
Earlier, I talked about how peacekeeping operations have evolved into peace support operations. We may still use the term “peacekeeping,” but, put simply, the days when peacekeeping operations involved deploying static observers along a cease-fire line have, for the most part, passed. Contemporary peace support operations are sometimes referred to as a “Three Block War” where Canadian Forces members could be engaged in combat operations against well-armed militia forces in one city block, stabilization operations in the next block, and humanitarian relief and reconstruction two blocks away.
It is treacherous, demanding work that calls on the men and women of the Canadian Forces to endure long separations from loved ones and live in hostile environments.
On any given day, 8,000 Canadian soldiers, sailors and Air Force personnel are preparing for, engaged in, or returning from an overseas mission. At present, more than 2,000 of them are deployed on international operations in such places as Bosnia, Afghanistan, the Golan Heights, Sinai and Darfur.
As our Veterans did in past decades, today’s Canadian Forces members carry the torch of freedom around the world, putting their lives on the line in far-off lands.
When we remember our Veterans’ sacrifices and reflect upon how their century of military service is impacting us today, we must pause to ask: What have our Veterans given to Canada?
The Veterans who fought Canada’s many battles and campaigns fought for more than freedom from oppression. They fought for liberty, democracy, and respect for humanity. Such are the values that we honour during Veterans’ Week. Our Veterans’ courage, dedication and sacrifice helped to position Canada as one of the most respected nations in the world.
Like their predecessors who stormed the beaches of Normandy, today’s Canadian Forces members will not be deterred. Building on the legacy forged by those who went before us, we continue to conduct missions around the globe to make the world a safer, more secure place for future generations, not only for Canadians but for all people.
Veterans know the price they paid for our freedom and security. They have passed the torch of freedom to new generations. It is now up to us to strive for peace for the future.
Take the time to get to know a Veteran. Listen to their stories. Show your gratitude for the sacrifices they made by attending a Remembrance Day ceremony this week.
Let us remember our Veterans’ sacrifices.
We can contribute to this legacy by creating an environment of peace in our communities, schoolyards, and homes, just as our Veterans did on a global scale so many years ago.
Let us respond by being peacemakers in our daily lives.
On the eleventh day of the eleventh month at eleven o’clock in the morning, we pause for two minutes to remember our Veterans and reflect upon their sacrifices, and we honour and thank all those who served and died protecting Canada.
Their legacy is our freedom.
Thank you.
