Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I consider it one of my highest honours to rise in this House and pay tribute to those who have served in Canada’s military. As we all know, Remembrance Day occurs on Friday of next week and it is the culmination of Remembrance Week. It is the day on which we dedicated our gratitude to those who’ve given so much to this province and this country.

Before the ceremonies of November 11, the nation will also pause on November 8, national Indigenous Veterans Day, to pay tribute to the many contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis service people. This province has a long and distinguished record of military heroism and leadership shown by Indigenous soldiers, those who overcame cultural challenges and discrimination to serve this country with honour and distinction.

Throughout Remembrance Week, we pay our respects to the individuals in uniform who protect Canada’s freedoms with courage and selflessness. Remembrance Day is our opportunity to honour those brave women and men who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of democracy, and to recognize the military veterans who are still with us in our communities today. Every Ontarian owes a debt to these veterans that we can never fully repay.

We must always demonstrate our appreciation, not only on the 11th day of the 11th month, but every day that we step outside our homes as people free of government oppression and free of armed conflict on our home soil. The brutal war being waged by Russia on Ukraine brings into stark focus the dangers that exist in the world today, and the importance of vigilance and standing shoulder to shoulder with our partners in defence of freedom and liberty. As I stand here, brave Canadian servicepeople are stationed across the world providing vital supports including, recently, increased deployments to our friends and allies in eastern Europe.

This year also marks the 150th birthday of Colonel John McCrae, born in Guelph, Ontario in 1872. Colonel McCrae was a combat surgeon who served in one of the bloodiest battles of World War I. Seeing red poppies amid the devastation on the battlefield, Colonel McCrae was moved to write the beloved poem In Flanders Fields. For more than a century, this poem has inspired millions around the globe, and Colonel McCrae’s sentiment lives on in the poppies worn by citizens of numerous countries in honour of their own service members.

And so I encourage every citizen of Ontario to wear the red poppy with pride, to acknowledge that gift of freedom we all hold dear. It’s a gift given to us by all brave servicemen and women who have stood tall and answered the call throughout the history of our country. I also encourage every Ontarian to hold a moment of silence this November 11 in order to thank and remember every one of our heroic military members, both living and those who have sadly departed.

To those heroes, I make a solemn promise to you: We will always stand with you, lest we forget. God bless our veterans: active, retired, and the ones we have lost.

Applause.

Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honour to rise today to pay tribute to, and express my sincere gratitude for, the service and sacrifice veterans have made in this province and for our country. To those who made the ultimate sacrifice, they provide a stark reminder of what it takes to defend our rights and freedoms. We all continue to benefit from your sacrifices, and each and every one of us has a duty to defend our democracy, our rights and freedoms. As Guelph’s famous son, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae said, “If ye break faith with us who die / We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / In Flanders fields.” To those who served, we shall not break faith with what you fought and died for.

The scars of war run deep. I’ve experienced it in the stoicism of my own family members who served, who quietly carried memories of the horrors they experienced to protect those of us they loved. We have an obligation to not only remember and pay tribute, but to also care and support those who served and their families who carry the pain of their loss.

To the veterans and first responders of this province and this country, I say thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your service and sacrifice. We must honour it. We must remember it. Lest we forget.